Shifting Sands
by Seldavia
Summary: COMPLETE! Little is known about Gerudo history, particularly the feud between the Dragmire and Musa clans. When Sogolon Musa is exiled by Ganondorf Dragmire for questioning his rule, she becomes an ally of his two worst enemies.
1. Sogolon of the Gerudo

She knew something was wrong when she saw the banners.

Since ancient times, the Gerudo had used colorful banners to send messages, warn of danger, and issue challenges to enemies. Long after they gave up their nomadic ways to build desert fortresses, the banners remained, letting the raiding parties know from a distance what was going on at home. In years past, such parties might not return for months, for instance if the plague flag had been raised.

There was no plague flag this time; but the sight of the crimson-and-sable banner made chills run over Sogolon's flesh regardless. She had only seen it twice in her lifetime; the banner that announced an execution.

She shouted to her band of raiders to move on, quickly, and spurred her own brilliant white desert horse that she herself had stolen from the sheik of a wealthy civilization. Her companions seemed puzzled at first, as they were weighed down with the spoils of a successful campaign, but once they saw the banners they too hurried their own steeds.

Her blood froze when she entered the fortress and saw Nabooru herself standing there, waiting for her. "Sister," Nabooru called to her as she dismounted, hurrying forward. "Sister…it is Sundiata."

"No." Sogolon stood rooted to the ground, refusing to take in the horrible news. "It can't be."

"He was found training in the Deep Canyons," Nabooru said softly, putting her hand on Sogolon's shoulder in a gesture of solace. "Sister…you know the rules of our tribe."

Sogolon's eyes narrowed, and when she spoke her voice had the taste and sharpness of gunpowder. "That old fool," she snarled. "He knew I had gone looking for the history of our people. Did he really think it would take me that long to return?"

"Sogolon…" Nabooru warned.

"Shut your pathetic mouth," Sogolon hissed, too quietly for the others to hear her utter such words to the second-in-command of their tribe. "You know Ganondorf is a witless snake, growing drunk on even a drop of power and seeking to feed his addiction with the malevolent magics of the Hylians."

"We've spoken about this before," Nabooru snapped. "There is nothing we can do. Ganondorf is the leader of our people, and your brother broke the law against men fighting. You know that we cannot let outsiders know about our hidden husbands, brothers, and sons!"

Furious tears in her eyes, Sogolon snatched a bound moldy parchment from her steed's saddlebag and thrust it in Nabooru's face. "This is what I set out to find! This is the true history of our people! My brother did not have to die!"

Eyes wide, Nabooru took the flaking parchment from Sogolon and gingerly turned the pages.. "By the gods…" she muttered slowly as she read, as well as she could, the splotched characters. "An ancient pact…?"

Suddenly she turned and motioned for Sogolon to follow her. "Hurry! They just raised the banners. Sundiata may still yet be alive!"

"What!" Sogolon jumped upon her horse, then swept Nabooru up into the saddle behind her. She dug her spurs into the horse's flanks as Nabooru cried, "Disperse! Disperse! Your regent and commander must come through!"

The two sisters clattered through the fortress and came up to the execution grounds in minutes. A huge audience had collected to see the man that had dared break the most sacred of their laws. The fact that it was the brother of Commander Sogolon, the third in command and leader of the most elite band of raiders, made it all the more fascinating.

As she thundered through the coliseum like a storm, Sogolon could see two figures in the middle of the execution ground, one standing, one kneeling. She kept her steed going full tilt until she had nearly rode them down, then pulled back the reins until the horse reared. She leaped down and jumped between them, thrusting her scimitar up to take the full brunt of Ganondorf's blow.

"Milady," Ganondorf said with surprise and ill-concealed irritation. "You cannot save him. Your brother has commited the most serious of crimes." He stepped back, his sword still ready. "Step aside, and do not interfere."

"Please, sister," Sundiata spoke behind her. "Do not shame our family further. I will take the punishment that I must…"

"There is no punishment, and no shame," Sogolon announced in a voice that carried throughout the coliseum. She held high the parchment she had shown to Nabooru. "Our ancestors created this system, one man among women, as a pact between the two three hundred years ago, in an attempt to right a terrible tragedy!"

A rush of talk erupted through the audience. Ganondorf stepped forward, and said so low that only Sogolon could hear, "So, you actually managed to find the Codex of Musa, did you?" He smiled savagely. "Well, it's not going to matter."

Before she could speak, he addressed the audience. "So there is another traitor in our midst! Do you dare question the rule of your king?!"

As the masses loudly digested this next statement, Sogolon tried to make herself heard over the din. "Our people used to have men as the raiders, but so many were killed in the Battle of Nine Armies that the women had to run the tribe! Then, when enough boys were born to rule again, the women did not want to give up their position. So they made a pact – that the two would share roles, but the men would dress differently to fool their enemies, and one man would serve as ultimate ruler over all! And if that one man-"

Her most important statement was cut off in a gasp, as the parchment disappeared in a flash of flame. She turned to Ganondorf, who flashed a wickedly evil smile. "And if that one man was not fit to rule, a council made up of the most wise and skilled would depose him and set up a rule of six men and women," he stated in the same low voice. "Yes, very nice. You should have spread this around bit by bit, rather than trying to charge in here and save your pathetic brother. Now try to prove it!"

"Traitor!" Ganondorf's voice rolled over the audience. "Now you and your brother will die for attempting to usurp power and fracture our tribe!"

He brought his sword down on Sogolon, even as Nabooru jumped off the horse and ran toward them. Sogolon fell to her knees under the force of the blow but still held her scimitar over her heart. Ganondorf pulled his sword back and swung at her unprotected head.

His strike went wide, and with an angry bellow he turned to the side to see Sundiata gripping his right foot. "Run, sister!" Sundiata cried, just before Ganondorf buried his sword in the young man's chest.

"Sundiata!" With a cry of anguish, Sogolon thrust her scimitar in Ganondorf's shoulder, but it did nothing as it could not cut through his thick armor. As Ganondorf pulled the sword from her dying brother, Sogolon turned on her heel and ran back to her horse, pushing Nabooru out of her way and mounting her steed.

"Stop her!" Ganondorf called to the archer guards that fringed the top of the coliseum. Arrows whistled past her head as she spurred her horse and galloped out, one of the arrows burying itself in her shoulder. She bent low over her steed as the people in the streets of the fortress screamed and scattered.

She could hear Ganondorf's voice bellowing behind her, and in the next moment she heard the elite guard blowing their horns, signaling for the rest of the guard to shut the massive entry doors and shoot her on sight.

The air was suddenly thick with flaming arrows, and two more struck Sogolon in the back and leg. She urged her horse faster, knowing her only hope lay in reaching the fortress doors before they closed. As she reached the entrance, she could see an entire mass of people pushing the doors closed.

With a silent prayer to the gods for forgiveness for what she was about to do, she pulled her bow and arrows from her back and began shooting indiscriminately, trying to pierce only nonvital areas of what were after all her own people. As they shouted in pain and scattered, she nudged her horse in between the enormous carved stone doors and set off at a gallop, a barrage of flaming arrows following her.

She heard the guards at the doors raise the alarm again, this time for the patrols surrounding the fortress. In no time at all she could see knots of warriors diverging toward her, shooting to kill.

She fired back, weaving and twisting around the groups, her horse much more nimble than the others' steeds; but there were so many of them, two more arrows buried themselves in her flesh before she broke free of the converging groups. The now-maddened horse needed no further bidding, and sped off into the darkness with its half-conscious rider lying on its neck and putting all remaining effort in staying in the saddle.

Sogolon did not remember the ground beneath her horses' feet turning from sand to stone to grass. She rode on for a timeless distance, then suddenly felt herself falling and flailed her arms as she fell hard, out of the saddle and onto the ground. Her exhausted horse stopped and looked back, foam frothing from its mouth.

It took all she could to stand; pain coursed through every inch of her body, and the arrows buried in her muscles gleefully sliced further if she moved. Gingerly she took out some dried herbs from a side pocket; Fairy's-blood, as the bright red herb was called, could partly heal wounds when mixed with water.

But she had no water; her water-skin was empty and the surplus water had been with her raiders. Of course, the land was so green here that there had to be some somewhere. Slowly, painfully, she limped along looking for a spring or a pond. She could hear running water, off to her right, and moved slowly toward it.

After a few hundred yards she came to a small spring, the trees and bushes hanging over it as if bowing in reverence. She stepped ankle-deep in the water and swished the herbs about, looking for something she could wrap around the wound to keep the herbs in place.

She heard her horse snort and stamp, and turned in alarm. She could faintly hear the footsteps of another horse, and motioned to her own to follow her into the bushes. She tripped over a stone and fell into the water, the precious herbs scattering in the ripples. She tried to collect them, but could hear the hoofbeats coming nearer, and struggled to burrow into the safety of the bushes.

The horse emerged with its rider, a young man in a green tunic with a Hylian's pointed ears. Sogolon's lip curled, and she tried to hide further, wondering if this one knew any Hylian sorcery and hoping he would just pass by.

But her horse nickered to the visitor, and the sound caught the attention of the young man, who pulled his horse to a stop and dismounted. Her heart stopped as she caught sight of a splendid sword and a shield with the Hylian royal seal on his back. Carefully, biting her lip so she could not shout in pain, she notched her last arrow to her bowstring.

"What are you doing all alone out here?" The young man asked the desert horse, examining his bridle and saddle. "Where is your master?"

"Right here," she breathed, and loosed the arrow. It merely grazed the young man, who spun around, sword drawn, and slashed at the bushes sheltering Sogolon. As he made a stabbing thrust, she caught the blade with her bare hands, blood running down the sides. He drew back in alarm, seeing that his adversary was unarmed. "Who are you, and why did you shoot at me?" he demanded.

"I am Sogolon Musa, Commander of the Gerudo," she gasped, trying to steady herself. "Do not touch me. I will fight you until death itself pulls the breath from my lungs!"

She saw his eyes fall upon the arrows embedded in her flesh, and could see his surprise upon determining that she had been attacked by her own people. He stepped back a few paces, then pulled a small bottle with a blue liquid from a side pocket and offered it to her. "Here. It's medicine."

"Poison, more likely," she snarled back. "Or some strange potion to turn me into a wraith and serve a Hylian sorcerer."

His face contracted in puzzlement. "Why would I poison someone already dying? And what would I do with a wraith? They're always attacking ME." He set the bottle down on a flat stone in the spring and stepped back a few paces more. When it became apparent that she wasn't moving, he shrugged and mounted his horse, then rode off, leaving the bottle there.

As soon as he was out of sight, she pounced on it, uncorked it, and swallowed the whole dose in one gulp. Poison it might have been, but she was so close to death she knew she had to take a risk. To her great surprise, she could feel her mind clearing and the arrows fell from her body as the wounds closed.

"Powerful stuff, this," she muttered to herself, pocketing the little bottle so she could identify the medicine if she ever came across it again. Still, she trusted her own remedies more, and picked the remains of her Fairy's-blood out of the spring and stuffed it into her pocket with the bottle. She took her horse's reins and paused, wondering which direction she should go. She was not at all familiar with this area, and knew that she would not be welcome among the inhabitants. In the end she decided to wait until nightfall, when at least she would be somewhat harder to spot.

Luck was with her, for as she wandered a little after dark she came across a small settlement, and stole some Hylian clothing from the yard of a small hut. She pulled her cloak around her face, as her Gerudian features would give her away regardless of what she wore. Her quiver finally was restocked with the arrows that had fallen from her body.

From her extensive travels, she knew there were other nomad tribes that would be happy to count an exiled Gerudan among their ranks, for her peoples' fierceness and agility were legendary. Some might even help her return to her land and take revenge for her brother's death. However, she had to get past the farmers, smiths, and soldiers of Hyrule first. None of these groups alone frightened her very much, but she knew she needed to steer clear of large towns, as she was not well armed and could not fight against a huge crowd. She stuck to rocky passes, keeping an eye out for the rock-men that were said to inhabit such places.

Ahead of the narrow pass where she was traveling, she saw mounted goblins converging on a target. She twitched her horse to the side, hoping to stay out of sight, but she could see them coming toward her, their target slightly ahead of them. As they approached, she was surprised to see that the unfortunate traveler was the same young man that had offered her the medicine.

As he whisked by her on his horse, she could see streaks of crimson on his green tunic. She twitched her horse into the path facing his pursuers, and notched an arrow to her bow. As quick as thinking she loosed four arrows and the goblins fell from their steeds, dead.

She turned around and was surprised to see the young man still there, sitting on his horse with his sword drawn, watching her with guarded hope. She pulled back the cloak so he could recognize her. "Allow me to repay my debt to you," she said, and pulled out the soaked Fairy's-blood.

He gingerly dismounted from his horse and watched as she dressed his wounds with the herbs. When she finished, she said, "Well, that's it, then," and turned to her horse.

"Wait." She turned around in surprise as he called out to her. "Commander Sogolon."

"What?" she asked, slightly irritated. "I'm in a hurry to leave this country."

"I'm sorry…I just wanted to thank you. My name is Link." He extended his hand in greeting.

She didn't move. "It doesn't really make a difference to me who you are." With a deft movement she was back in the saddle. "I repaid my debt to you, and I'll be leaving now."

"Where are you going?"

She rounded on him, allowing anger to mask her fear upon learning that she was facing the Hylian who had defeated her former leader. "Why do you care?"

"Because you are heading toward Hyrule Castle, which is a strange place to go for someone trying to leave the country. If you really are trying to leave, I can show you where to go, but if you are Ganondorf's Commander I can't allow you to take another step toward the castle." He clasped his hand around the hilt of his sword.

She sat silently, watching him, considering her options. "I am an exile. I no longer serve Ganondorf. I still retain the title of Commander because it is an honor I deserve."

Link didn't move his hand from the hilt. "Can you prove that?"

Mentally Sogolon cursed herself for getting caught in this situation. She didn't want to perpetuate Ganondorf's myth about her people, but she didn't want to expose any kind of weakness to the one outsider who could probably destroy her entire tribe. Instinctively she touched the leather-bound copy of the Codex she had made prior to returning home.

Of course…from what she had heard, the Hylian warrior was not interested in hunting the desert people, but only in keeping Ganondorf from stealing their magics, magics that did not belong with them anyway.

"I cannot," she said finally. "All I can tell you is that Ganondorf is little kinder to our people than he is to yours, and he killed a relative of mine that was very dear to me. I could not fight his position as leader, so I left."

Link stood, weighing his own options. "The quickest way out of Hyrule is the way you came, then north instead of south once you reach the spring where we first met. However…if you wanted to join us in our battle against Ganondorf…I can introduce you to our leader."

Sogolon's lip curled in disgust. "Princess Zelda, the guardian of the foul magic that has poisoned Ganondorf's already broken mind? The magic that you, too, possess?"

Blinking, Link replied, "You mean the Triforce? It's not an evil magic."

"It is when it turns your already unstable leader into a mad despot," Sogolon told him dryly. "Sorry, but I want to keep my mind sane." She twitched her horse around. "Thank you for the directions," she said, and spurred it forward.

After only three months Sogolon had established herself as leader of scrubland dwellers, not far from the eastern borders of the lands governed by Zelda. She had easily dispatched the former leader, and her fierce cunning and dedication to her followers had ensured their loyalty. Under Sogolon they had grown much richer and had been able to fight off numerous raids from a neighboring tribe.

Recently, Sogolon had begun to cast a wary eye at the Hylian border, which had grown dark one day as if before a storm and never returned to its normal state. It was becoming clear that she was not safe even here, and had instructed her scouts to begin moving eastward, with smaller patrols gathering intelligence back west.

Early one morning, just before the sun was about to emerge from the horizon, one of the western scouts returned alone. He was mortally wounded, pierced with arrows of a make that Sogolon had never seen before.

""Commander." She had to strain to hear him, his voice muted and muddy. "A group of raiders from the Musa clan…"

Sogolon stiffened, daring to hope. "The Musa clan? Are you sure?"

"…I told them you had joined us…they did not believe me…they said they had defeated the Dragmire dictator, and were searching for you…"

"Forgive me, Tanar," she said softly, bowing her head. "I never dreamed…I never dreamed that they would see through his hoax. Forgive me for putting you in harm's way."

"Commmander…" Tanar's eyes closed slowly, then suddenly flew open, bright and clear. "Commander, he is coming!"

His body seized violently, then lay still.

The small knot of raiders around him looked at each other. "What did that mean, Commander?" her third lieutenant asked.

"Not sure." She stood, considering. "I assume someone has come looking for me, now that Ganondorf has been deposed." Looking off in the distance, she said more to herself than to the others, "I should go investigate alone. Something about this seems suspicious…and I never knowingly put my people in danger."

Turning back to her lieutenant, she commanded, "Take the rest of our group further west, and leave travelers'-marks for me as you go. If I don't join up with you in four days, keep going."

Sogolon rode at a slow gallop toward the Hylian border, one hand on her scimitar and a watchful eye scanning every hill. As she began to reach the end of the scrubland, she saw a series of mounted figures rise up in the distance. They carried the blue-green banners of a search party.

Sogolon raised her scimitar and turned it slightly so it flashed in the sun, a series of short flashes designed for the search party to see. She stood fast, waiting for them to come to her, straining to recognize any of the individuals in the party. They wore their cloaks over their faces too, to keep the grit out of their faces, and she could not tell if they were Musa, Dragmire, or one of the lesser clans.

"Hail, Commander Sogolon!" came the muffled voice of the woman at front, just a few feet away.

"Hail," Sogolon replied without enthusiasm. "Is it Meredine?"

"No," a deep voice replied behind her. As she whirled round she was struck hard in the shoulder, knocked completely out of the saddle, and fell hard onto the ground. As she rolled over and placed her hand over the hilt of her scimitar, the blade of another sword pressed itself against her throat.

"Greetings, Milady." Ganondorf stood smiling above her, casually watching her reaction, his eyes glinting with pleasure at her surprise and fear. "It's been a while."

Sogolon gathered her wits. "So you put Tanar under some kind of spell to draw me here. If you came to kill me, then do it, and skip the monologue about my inevitable demise."

With a short laugh, he replied, "Milady, I did come to kill you, but I might change my mind if you listen to me for a few moments…and I have a proposition, not a monologue."

Sogolon merely nodded to indicate that she was listening.

"Doubtless you have noticed that I have overtaken the kingdom of Hyrule." He gestured to the inky black clouds to their west. "Unfortunately, the Triforce still eludes me. It rests within two people. One is the Princess Zelda, who has fled the country with the other, her nation's hero."

Permitting herself a slight smirk, Sogolon replied, "So…your grand scheme has been foiled by a mere two people?"

If Ganondorf was insulted, he didn't show it. "My reputation precedes me, and therefore it is difficult for me to finish my work. You, however, are not known to them."

"What's your point?"

"I want you to capture the princess and kill her bodyguard. Bring her and the body of the Hylian hero to me, so that I may finally carry out my destiny. I will pardon you and you can return to the Gerudo."

Now it was Sogolon's turn to laugh. "What makes you think I'll do anything you say? Kill me and do it yourself."

An evil grin slowly spread across his face. "Yes, yes…a true Gerudo warrior, never backing down from the threat of death. Of course, any member of the two elite families has this trait in their blood. However, if you do not do as I ask, you will be the only Gerudo warrior of Musa blood in the world."

Sogolon froze, eyes wide. "You…you couldn't! You'd never manage to get all of them…"

He leaned close so that only she could hear. "I have destroyed the only thing that could dispute my rule as king of the Gerudo. Our people are sworn to obey my every command…yes, even slay their own people, if I convince them that the Musa wish to split from the tribe, leaving us vulnerable to the outsiders."

Shuddering inside, Sogolon cast her gaze down to the ground, knowing that what he said was true.

"Now," Ganondorf continued as he leaned back and moved the sword tip slightly away from her neck, "what is your answer to my offer?"

Filled with overwhelming disgust for both him and herself, Sogolon replied thickly, "I have no choice but to accept."

Of all the places in the world to be, they had to be in the Zora's domain.

After a week of tracking, dodging angry Hylian rebels and crawling through fly-infested swamps, Sogolon was on the edge of the one place in the world – besides maybe Lake Hyrule – that she'd hoped she'd never be.

Sogolon could not swim.

No Gerudo could. There was no need, no way to learn in any case. During the few hundred-year floods that swept through the desert, the Gerudo would take shelter in the towers of their fortresses until the waters receded. Sogolon knew no more about swimming than a turtle knows about flying.

For the most part she had been able to edge along the cliffsides, trying her hardest not to look out over the rocky canyon and the river below. But now that she had finally made it into the mountains, she could go no further without either going in the water, climbing sheer cliffs, or using rickety rope bridges.

But she had finally sighted her quarry, the same young man that she had bumped into when she first entered Hyrule. No sign of the princess, but Sogolon doubted she would come out of hiding without a very good reason.

Like perhaps a missing bodyguard.

He had been chatting with one of the Zora soldiers on the edge of a small lagoon for five minutes, five minutes which allowed Sogolon a little time to position herself. The problem was that she had to shimmy out onto a thin rock bridge, at least twenty feet from the water, to get a good shot. As she crawled on her stomach she focused on placing her trembling hands one before the other, and the one time she looked down her head swam until she shut her eyes tight.

As she came to the middle of the bridge, she notched an arrow to her bow and squinted, looking for the best place to strike. His shield covered most of his back; she decided to aim for his neck.

Just as she pulled the fletching back to her ear, the water erupted below her as a Zora soldier surfaced and shouted. Sogolon cried out in alarm, her arrow shooting far off target, and as she raised her hands to steady herself her body stiffened in foreboding as she felt herself tip irrevocably over the edge.

Her piercing scream was swallowed up by the water, the current pulling at her from the outside and the suffocating liquid rushing down her throat. She flailed around haplessly, eyes open and unseeing, trying to grab hold of something, anything.

She heard a crash and saw something fall into the water nearby. Friend or enemy, it was irrelevant. As her lungs burned and her muscles seized up she felt darkness overtake her.

Sogolon awoke with the taste of wet plant matter in her mouth. She retched, and her lungs ached as if their insides had been scraped by splintered wood. Coughing, she looked up, and choked on another scream.

She was in what appeared to be a glass bubble, which was completely submerged in water. She sat on a small stone platform and next to her was water, water from the outside. She could not understand how her bubble could not be filled with it, how the air could be suspended underwater.

There were Zora swimming in the water. One noticed she was awake and dived down to the bubble, going under the glass and into the little bit of water near her feet. She jumped back and raised her fists, ready to fight hand-to-hand if necessary, even though he had a spear and she had nothing.

"So you're awake, are you?" was all he said.

"What am I doing here?" Sogolon demanded.

"Well…if it were up to us, you would have been left to drown. But, strangely enough, the person who you tried to kill – who is a friend of ours, by the way – jumped in and saved you."

She paused a moment to take this in, then asked, "Then where is he?"

"He has gone to decode some kind of book you had. Thankfully, he has enough suspicion to find out more about you."

"Book?" In a panic, Sogolon searched her person for the Musa Codex. It was gone.

"Consider yourself lucky," the Zora said just before he departed back into the water. "Link is going to give you a bit of a chance, depending on what he finds in that book. If it were up to us, you'd be dead."


	2. Switching Sides

During any kind of totalitarian rule, the intellectuals are often forced to flee. Shad, not having the ability to fight and not bearing to live in the castle town knowing Ganondorf sat on the throne, took up residence in a tiny hovel in Kakariko Village. It was not at all to his liking; even the few books he had managed to bring with him barely fit in the scant space. But like-minded allies surrounded him, and the slow pace of the village allowed him to concentrate on his studies.

He was surprised one day to hear a knock at the door, and his face lit up in delight when he opened it. "Link, my friend! What are you doing in this neck of the woods?"

"Shad, can you read Gerudian script?" Link fumbled with something wrapped in several layers of tanned leather.

"Indeed I can, though I don't get much practice…the Gerudo tend to handle their affairs through oral tradition, and I'd never get close enough to one in order to hear them speak." He eyed the little package hungrily. "Don't tell me you've actually managed to find one?"

"Yes…and it seems significant somehow. Could you take a look at it?"

Shad grasped the small book eagerly, and his eyes widened as he read the first page. "Good heavens, man…do you realize what you have here? This is a copy of the Codex of Musa!"

Link grinned sheepishly. "Is that significant?"

"Indeed it is…the Musa are one of the two elite clans of the Gerudo. The Dragmire is the other major clan. I'm sure you're quite familiar with that one…"

"Too familiar…"

"Yes, well…they were once completely different tribes, and they came together to form what we now know as the Gerudo…here, look at this." Shad ran his finger along characters that made no sense at all to Link. "It reads, 'In the sixty-fourth year of Maia, the two great tribes – Musa and Dragmire – came together with their allies to form a peace treaty'."

Link waited patiently as Shad flipped excitedly through the pages, having no idea what he was looking for and hoping Shad would hit upon it by accident.

Shad pointed out another passage. "Here, look at this. 'We suffered great casualties in the Battle of Nine Armies. Nearly all our warriors were killed. Our chieftain, Asali, commanded that the women take on the responsibilities of the menfolk, lest our enemies see our weakness'."

"Wait," Link interrupted. "The menfolk? I thought the Gerudo were all women, except for the leader."

"You know, I remember hearing something about this. Look here. 'Fifteen years after the Battle of Nine Armies, the boys had grown into men and demanded that the women return to their homes. But they had grown accustomed to their freedom, and refused. A council of elders considered the problem…' Hmmm, very interesting, very interesting indeed. It seems they switched to an egalitarian meritocracy…"

"A what?"

"It means the best one for the job gets it. Both genders fulfill both roles, based on the individual's abilities."

"That sure doesn't sound like the Gerudo now."

"Well, that's hardly the end of the book." Shad flipped to the end, scanning the pages toward the back. "Aha! Listen to this: 'The fifteenth year of Eldor was one of familial strife, with individuals choosing their alliances to either Musa or Dragmire instead of the Gerudo as a whole. The Musa had come to dominate the raiders' parties, with most of the Dragmire staying within the fortress walls. On the sixteenth year of Eldor, a bloody coup took place at the command of Garrison Dragmire, who purged the Musa from the raiders' groups as well as any position of power'."

"That sounds familiar," Link said dryly.

"Oh, it gets better. 'Garrison knew he had to give the Musa something, or they would find a way to depose him even with severely reduced numbers. So he commanded that only Musa women would be allowed on raiding parties, and Dragmire raider men would dress differently. This, he said, would give outsiders a skewed idea of the Gerudo people and therefore they could not fight the Musa properly. The Dragmire women and Musa men were to remain at home, and were forbidden from learning the warrior's arts."

Link scratched his head. "So…this Garrison…he was able to completely change the Gerudo by convincing them that if he did so, they would be safe from their enemies?"

"I believe so. Fear, especially fear of the unknown, works wonders for keeping people under power."

"Hmmm…two families…Musa men forbidden from fighting…" Link mulled over this information for several minutes, as Shad thumbed happily through the pages.

Suddenly, he looked up and held out his hand for the book. "I'll need that back now."

With a look of extreme shock, Shad exclaimed, "But I've barely looked at it!"

"This is important. You can look at it later."

"Just give me a few minutes more to…"

"_Now_, Shad."

"Oh, all right." Shad slapped the book into Link's open hand. "But promise me you'll bring it back soon."

"I can't promise you anything." Link stuck the little book back in his pocket. "But if my hunch is correct, maybe I can include a Gerudo to help explain it all."

Fish, of any kind, had never been on the Gerudo menu. There had never been any above-ground water in the desert suitable for fish. Sogolon knew what the thing was when the Zora handed it to her, but she had no intention of putting it in her mouth, even if she had to starve, particularly since it was raw.

One of them appeared in the small pool beneath her feet and she jumped in alarm, wondering if he knew what she was thinking about the fish. Before she could react, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into the water. She struggled desperately, thinking he was trying to drown her.

Suddenly she broke the surface and fell down hard on cold stone. Sputtering and gasping, she tried to catch her breath. She raised her head slightly and saw booted feet walking toward her.

"Why is this book important to you?" Link held the Codex up, just out of her reach.

Despising herself for being so weak, Sogolon gasped, "It is the history of my people. History that Ganondorf rewrote for his own gain."

"This person you know that Ganondorf killed…who was it?"

"My brother."

"So it isn't true that Ganondorf is the only man among them."

Furious that an outsider had learned her people's secret, Sogolon snarled, "Are you a fool? Did you really think that a society could sustain itself that way?"

For several moments, Link said nothing. Then he held out the book to Sogolon. "This is yours, and I have no right to keep it. But before you take it back…why did you shoot at me a second time?"

Sogolon hesitated. "You read the book…you know about the rivalry between the clans?"

"Yes."

Bowing her head in shame, Sogolon replied, "Ganondorf found me even though I had hidden in exile. He threatened to destroy the Musa clan if I did not bring to him the two other vessels of the Triforce. I am the guardian of my people…if there is a way to protect them, I cannot refuse to carry it out."

Link handed her the book. "I'm sorry, Commander Sogolon. I wish that we had met under different circumstances. But if you make another attempt on my life, or on Zelda's, I will have to kill you."

He turned to the Zora guards. "Lead her to the lake and return her weapons. I'll be returning back to base."

Before anyone could say anything, a series of yells and the clash of metal on metal echoed throughout the chamber. Zora soldiers, their backs to the chamber, were attempting to fight off a mob of goblins, led by a Dragmire female.

Link unsheathed his sword and joined the Zora soldiers, who were gradually being forced back into the chamber. Sogolon turned on her heel and ran down a side passage, away from the fight.

Before she could get far, a flaming arrow whistled past her ear and landed at her feet. "Sogolon!" a loud female voice bellowed. "Where are you going? Come back and do your duty!"

Sogolon turned slowly, to see the Dragmire woman cut down two Zora with a sweep of her sword. The woman reached out and grabbed Link by his sword hand, hoisting him high in the air. "Here is a clear shot even you can master, Commander!" she called with a mocking laugh.

Link kicked her, but she merely threw him against the wall with a flick of her wrist. "Come, I am doing you a favor. We need strong fighters to keep the Hylians and their allies in their place. Now kill this one, and join the rest of us!"

Link struggled to his knees, his eyes fixed on Sogolon, trying to move out of the way but unable to stand without falling over.

Sogolon notched an arrow to her bow, and drew the fletching back to her ear. She hesitated, just for a moment, considering the enormity of what she was about to do. Then she let the arrow fly.

It buried itself in the throat of the Dragmire woman.

With a wild yell, Sogolon threw herself into the fray, fighting hand-to-hand against the goblins, the Zora joining her. Finally, the last few surviving monsters fled.

Link looked up to see Sogolon offering him her hand. He took it and stood. "Does this mean you're on our side?"

"It means I am on the opposite side of Ganondorf," she told him gravely. "Let's leave it at that for now."


	3. A True Gerudo Warrior

Sogolon gnawed away at the last bits of gristle on the rabbit carcass she had cooked. As a raider, she had little experience herding goats or tending to drought-corn; these tasks were reserved for those who lived within the fortress walls. Her skills were limited to hunting small game in order to stave off starvation, in the case of a failed raid or separation from the group.

"Foolish Hylian," she muttered to herself. "How naïve to think I would join forces with his people just because we happened to fight together a few times."

But Sogolon was now in the middle of an identity crisis. She had never been away from her own people for so long. A lone Gerudo, it was said, was like a drop of water splashed from a bucket; it quickly evaporated. She knew she couldn't go back until Ganondorf's wish was fulfilled, but she knew above all that she must do nothing that allowed him to gain still more power. She had looked for inspiration in the Codex of Musa, but so far it had yet to provide one.

Ahead of her, across the field, was the entrance to a small village. She had stalled on entering for several hours. She knew she would not be welcome there, and had little to protect her other than the hood and scarf that covered her face, and her bow and arrows. Her scimitar she intended to leave behind as it would give away her identity. But she had heard that the village was a haven for refugees from the castle town, and among the flotsam and jetsam of diverse migrants, perhaps she would not attract so much attention

Sogolon was looking for a Gerudo scholar.

She felt profoundly humiliated knowing that she was going to an outsider for information about her own people. But Garrison Dragmire's rewriting of history had destroyed most true knowledge of her people. The Hylian hero had found someone to translate her book; so that person must have learned Gerudo script from somewhere. She imagined he must be very powerful to have gained access to her peoples' secrets, and secretly hoped that he (or she) was actually another Gerudo.

She entered the town on foot. It looked deserted. The windows were shuttered; not a single person walked the streets. There was, however, a small sign of life; she could see dim lights in the windows of an inn.

She opened the door, bracing herself for an outburst; a few people looked up, then returned to their drinks or games of cards. Sogolon breathed a sigh of relief, and entered the bar, keeping to the sides and sitting down at an empty table toward the back.

The barman walked up to her table. "What'll it be, stranger?"

"What will five rupees get me?" Sogolon asked, speaking in short, clipped tones to hide her Gerudo accent.

"Nothing more than a tankard of grog…sorry, but we've been having trouble with our supply lines," he replied with a shrug.

"That's fine." She paid him and he poured her drink. Sogolon had very little Hylian currency and didn't want to spend it on things like grog, but she knew that she'd be kicked out if she didn't buy something.

Sipping the drink slowly – it tasted like muddy oil – she scanned the room for scholars. There were quite a few well-dressed people there, and a number of tough-looking ones, but she couldn't see anyone who could be a scholar of the Gerudo culture.

Suddenly she heard a shout to her left, and turned her head to see a frivolously dressed young man attempting to dry the open pages of a book, his companion's tankard having spilled over it. "Do be more careful!" the bespectacled man chided his companion.

Sogolon groaned inwardly. _"By the gods…this can't seriously be him…"_

She sat in silence for an hour, nursing her tankard of grog and watching him. Finally, as the crowd began to thin out, he got up to leave with three of his friends. Sogolon counted to sixty after the door closed behind the last one, then stood and followed.

Once out the door, she could see the man bidding good-bye to his fellows and entering a small, run-down house. She waited in the shadows until his friends were out of sight, then jogged quickly to the little house and knocked softly on the door.

"Coming!" A cheery voice came from within. The young man opened the door. "You know, I was hoping you'd stop by for—oh!"

Sogolon shoved him back inside the house and shut the door behind her. She pushed the trembling man up against the wall and pulled back her head coverings. He yelped in fright.

"Don't shout for your friends…they'll never reach you in time," she warned.

Quaking, the young man pleaded, "Please…don't kill me…I don't have any money, and I'm not much of a fighter…"

"I just want to ask you a few questions," she told him, smoothing her voice slightly and easing her grip on him just a little. She pulled out the Musa Codex. "Did a young man ask you to translate this?"

"Y…yes, yes he did…and you can't hurt him, he's a famous warrior!"

"I don't want to hurt him, dolt. I've had plenty of chances already." She let go and he dropped to the ground, legs wobbling. "You can read Gerudo script?"

"Oh…oh yes…my father was a scholar and explorer…much better than me, I'm sad to say…" He walked unsteadily to a small chest in the back of the small room. "I had to leave a lot of my books and scrolls behind…but I kept most of the ones in Gerudo script, they're very rare, most of them one-of-a-kind…"

He dug around in the chest for a while, and eventually extracted a scroll and three books. "Here…you can have them if you like…"

"I only wish to look at them. I have no place to put them…" She picked up the scroll and opened it, scanning the script. She looked up to see the young man watching her warily, wringing his hands. "Here, you can look at this one." She offered him the Musa Codex.

He took it eagerly, all fear erased from his face. "Oh! Thank you…Link only let me have a few moments to look through it…" He sat down in a rickety chair next to a small table, and pulled a guttering candle toward him.

Sogolon read through the scroll. It appeared to be a transcription of a folk tale, something about a Gerudo warrior on a campaign, a trickster scorpion, and a magic necklace. She realized it was a fairy tale for children, intending to teach fundamental parts of their code of honor. It was simplistic, but gave some insight; it was certainly of a different tone than what she had learned as a child.

She flipped through another one of the books, an analysis of some forgotten battle. The tactics and reasoning were also very different, and yet not completely alien, as if they echoed something that had been lost in the collective subconscious of her people.

Three hours later, she had looked through them all; though the Gerudo knew many stories that could be told for days, they apparently didn't feel the need to put them down on paper. The young man was still happily reading the Codex of Musa, apparently not caring that it was just a couple hours to sunrise and he hadn't slept a wink.

"Young man," she addressed him, and he jerked his head up, startled. "What is your name?"

"Shad," he told her with a hint of hesitation.

She offered her hand. "Shad, I am Commander Sogolon Musa. I want you to keep that Codex for me."

He took her hand, and she could feel him shaking. "My word…I'm honored, but…why do you want me to keep it?"

"My future is uncertain," she said flatly. "You have kept these other documents safe, even though they hold little or no meaning to you outside of curiosity."

"Oh, but…"

"Tell me, Hylian Shad…what do you believe is, according to these documents, a true Gerudo warrior?"

"You're asking me?"

"Yes."

"Well…" He looked nervous, as if he were afraid she would harm him if he gave a wrong answer. "The texts say that a true Gerudo warrior…is someone who puts the clan ahead of themselves. Someone who is not afraid to face death, and who always goes down fighting. Someone who always makes their intentions known, rather than stooping to trickery. Someone who only steals for the good of their clan, and never takes anything that would cause them harm. Someone who will even help an enemy if he or she is in grave danger from some other force. Someone who returns both malice and goodwill in double measures."

"Yes," Sogolon said slowly, wistfully. "Those are the marks of a true Gerudo warrior…I can feel it in my blood, even though we have been living under a cloud of trickery and malice for over a hundred years."

She fixed her gaze on Shad. "Guard that book well," she commanded. "It is but a shred of what my people used to be. And remember…Ganondorf seeks to destroy his own people as well as yours."

She turned, and left the house, leaving Shad gaping in the dark.

----------------

Back in the fields, the small town a tiny spot behind her, Sogolon walked toward the sunrise.

Suddenly, she felt a strange sensation, as if space itself was bending to accommodate some foreign mass.

"Greetings, Milady."

She whirled round to see Ganondorf behind her. "Checking up on me?" she asked softly, her hand straying to the hilt of her scimitar.

"Somewhat," he said with a malicious grin. "I heard you fought by the side of the Hylian hero," he informed her, his voice soft with the taste of honey and gunpowder. "You're supposed to kill him, not help him."

"If I remember correctly, the instructions were to kill him and bring the Princess," she replied, slowly and steadily. "How am I supposed to find her if I kill the one person who knows her whereabouts? And have you never heard of a double-agent?"

"Hmpf!" Ganondorf snorted. "Well, then, you're doing well…I thought you might like to have…_this_…"

He handed her a small gold pendant, in the shape of a snake curled around a scorpion.

She stared, wide-eyed. "This belongs to my aunt, Kuna. How did _you_ get it?"

"How did you think?"

She raised her head in disbelief.

"I warned you, Milady," he said in a low growl, his face very close to hers. "If you do not wish to be the last of your clan, you need to _follow my orders_."

"I already told you." Sogolon's voice shook with rage. "I'm gaining his trust so I can find the other."

Ganondorf straightened, and smiled like a canary-filled cat. "Of course you are. I'm just giving you a little reminder…so you don't forget where your loyalties lie."


	4. Snowbound Mansion

Sogolon bent against the frigid wind, the sleet sandblasting the little bit of her face not covered by her scarf. She had dressed in several layers before embarking on her journey in the mountains, but it had made no difference. The snow had soaked through all of them and she was chilled to the bone. Her feet felt like leaden weights as she trudged through the drifts.

It was only her skill as a tracker that had brought her this far. She could see trails where no one else could, whether they were in sand or snow. But she had no tolerance for the hard-packed snow and the freezing temperatures. She had lost one day in a blizzard, but thanks to a small cave, she thankfully had not lost her life.

She had seen the Hylian hero pass by while she sheltered. But he was no longer her target. Sogolon now grasped at the chance, albeit a slim chance, that she could save her clan without bending to Ganondorf's will.

Through the howling wind she could see the ruins of a mansion atop a small hill. It was the only dwelling for miles; it had to be the right place.

As Sogolon stepped up onto the stone patio, her ankles buckled and she fell to her knees. The hard stone pressed against her feet, now completely numb. Slowly, gingerly, she stood, walking on dead bricks. In the lee of the building, she could hear herself breathing hard; before all sound had been erased by the wind.

She paused, hunched against the wall, scouting the windows and trying to stay out of sight; she notched an arrow to her bow, knowing that there had to be some kind of guard nearby, whether it was the Hylian himself or some kind of magic. Creeping slowly along, she listened for any sound or movement, willing her legs to take her far enough to complete this final task.

She climbed in through a shattered window, examining the untouched snowdrifts inside the room with satisfaction. Taking care not to leave any tracks of her own, she limped toward the nearest door. For several minutes she listened with her ear against the door, then slowly turned the handle.

Seven rooms she explored, breathing hard and trying to ignore her cramping muscles. A tremor shook her and she nearly loosed an arrow; she breathed deeply, waiting for it to pass. She still felt chilled, though beads of sweat ran down the sides of her face.

After negotiating a long flight of stairs, she crept slowly along a hallway, then stopped as she heard a voice. She stood completely still, her body screaming in agony. She could not make out the words, but the voice sounded right, though she had never heard it before.

She followed the sound into the entryway to what was once a grand ballroom, the floor fallen in to the room below. But the ceiling and roof were still intact, as well as the windows; a cheery fire blazed at the opposite end of the ground-level room. The speaker was quiet now, but Sogolon had no trouble seeing her.

The Princess Zelda stood next to a table, examining a map of Hyrule, fingering small flags that represented her forces and her enemy's.

Slowly, Sogolon drew back the arrow, the fletching reaching to her ear. She uttered a prayer to Kuna's pendant around her neck, asking her spirit to guide the arrow, and aimed the bolt right for the Princess's heart.

Suddenly a sharp force slammed into her arm, splitting the bow and sending the arrow spinning wildly into the wall. As she looked up, stunned, she watched a boomerang circle around her and come to rest in its owner's hand.

"Sogolon!" Link shouted. She drew her scimitar and faced him.

His first strike drove her to her knees, but she blocked his sword and pushed him backward. He circled around her and attacked from the back, but she blocked that as well. She stood, trying to take the offensive, but her frostbitten feet failed her.

"Sogolon! You said that you wouldn't fight on Ganondorf's side!" he cried angrily. "Is this trickery part of your Gerudo honor?"

She swung at him, but he jumped out of the way. "It is," she gasped. "I will not allow Ganondorf to destroy my people. I will kill the bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom, so he cannot learn how to control its power!"

On one knee, she parried each of Link's thrusts, blocked each of his slices. As she drew in ragged breaths, she saw Zelda come in the door behind him, and raise her arms as if to cast a spell. In a desperate last attempt, she hurled her scimitar at the sorceress princess. Zelda raised her hand and the sword rang off an invisible shield.

Link shoved Sogolon on her back with his shield and held the point of his sword at her throat. "Go ahead," she told him. "I only ask one thing of you; that you deliver my body to Ganondorf, so he knows that I failed in my mission. Perhaps he will spare my clan if he believes if I fell trying to fulfill his request. He cannot fault me for being defeated by _you_."

"Commander Sogolon." Link's voice was soft and grave. "I do not wish to kill you."

Sogolon began to tremble involuntarily, from exhaustion and hypothermia. "My body is failing anyway." She turned to Zelda, who had appeared at her side, and tears formed in her eyes. "If you are indeed a benevolent ruler, I beg of you to let me pass on with a shred of dignity and help me save my clan!"

Zelda's face began to fade before her, but she could still hear the woman speak. "Commander Sogolon…we are going to help you live."

"No," Sogolon whispered, unsure that they could hear her, trying desperately to speak as she blacked out. "He will follow me here. He will kill us all…"

-&-

Sunlight streamed in through the windows. Sogolon found herself staring up at a wooden ceiling, the walls around it draped in old, tattered finery. Still dazed, she stared for a while, trying to remember what happened.

"How are you feeling?" She turned toward the voice and saw Zelda's face watching her anxiously.

Sogolon leaped up in the bed, but was immediately pushed down. As she struggled and bit the woman's hand, another pair of hands restrained her. "Commander Sogolon, calm down!" Link ordered. "We're trying to help you!"

"I don't want your help!" Tears of humiliation ran down her cheeks as she collapsed, too weak to fight.

"Commander, please listen to us." Zelda said softly, calmly. "We want you to help us fight Ganondorf. If he is defeated, then your people will be safe!"

Sogolon shook her head. "The three of us? And your ragtag army of rebels? I cannot risk putting the legacy of the Musa in Hylian hands." She turned to Link. "What of your clan? Did you leave them in the castle town, for Ganondorf to torment? What use are you to them, hiding away here?"

"If we had stayed, then we certainly would not have been able to fight him," Zelda told her. "I'm sure you must understand the tactical-"

"Zelda," Link interrupted. He turned to Sogolon. "I have no clan," he told her.

She stared. "How is that possible?"

He took a deep breath. "My whole family died in a war shortly after I was born. I have never been able to trace them."

"But…"

"Over the years I've lived among many of the people of Hyrule. There are some – particularly those I lived with as a child – who I consider family, though I am not related to them by blood. Do you understand, Sogolon? My family's whole village – all its history, its people – were wiped out. Do you think that means my own life means nothing?"

Sogolon sneered. "You are the Hylian Hero. You have the blessings of your Princess. I am simply a desert bandit, hated by your people."

"We've never had good relations with the Gerudo," Zelda admitted. "But the Hylians and the Musa have a common enemy. Ganondorf's rule is no good for either of us."

Sogolon narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "So…you're saying that I should join you, reasoning that the enemy of my enemy is my friend?"

"I'm saying you should follow your warrior's code, and continue to defend your clan…just using different tactics," Link explained.

She frowned, considering this. "I am afraid that he will track me down by magic, as he did when I traveled in the fields," she said. "While I am here, you are in danger."

"You cannot go anywhere in your condition," Zelda told her. "You have a very bad case of frostbite. It was everything I could do to prevent amputation of your legs."

Sogolon bowed her head and said nothing.

Link put a hand on her shoulder. "I respect you, Commander. I honestly believe you can help us defeat him."

"I have put up a protective barrier around this place," Zelda told her. "It will not be easy for Ganondorf to enter."

"_I_ could," Sogolon pointed out.

Link permitted himself a grim smile. "We wanted to see what you were going to do. I followed you from the moment you entered the mansion's grounds."

Sogolon could not think of an appropriate reply. Finally she said, "I suppose it would not kill me to stay here a while."

-&-

After a week, Sogolon could hobble around a little on crude wooden crutches. She was not used to being cared for by people she considered her enemies, so she tried to be a self-sufficient as possible. Zelda's healing powers worked wonders, but the damage to Sogolon's body had been severe.

"I need more water," Zelda said, more to herself than to Sogolon.

"I will fetch it." Sogolon stood and tucked her crutches under her arms.

"Are you sure you can manage?"

"I am tired of lying in bed." Sogolon limped down the hall and maneuvered down the stairs, then walked through the doorway that led to the indoor well.

Suddenly a massive explosion rocked the entire mansion. Sogolon fell to the ground, moldy tapestries and a warped painting falling on top of her. A few walls must have gone down as well, for she could hear both Zelda and Link shouting clearly.

There was also another voice. "Finally, this barrier has weakened enough for me to enter!" Ganondorf's voice roared down through the ruined house. "I don't know what you've been doing, Princess, but it must have taken much of your power!"

Sogolon heard the ring of steel on steel. Footsteps grew louder and louder, and Zelda almost ran past her. Halting, Zelda turned around and tried to push the debris off of Sogolon.

"Run," Sogolon told her. "If he gets you, all hope for both our peoples is gone."

"Link is holding him off for now. Help me push!"

Sogolon struggled to her knees. "He will not last long…"

"You foul creature!" they both heard Link shout. "Did you really track Sogolon here? Did you really threaten to destroy her people?"

As Zelda pulled Sogolon to her feet, they heard Ganondorf explode into peals of vindictive laughter.

"Threaten? I can't risk having traitors nearby. Why do you suppose she was exiled in the first place? I eliminated them long ago. Ever since she left the desert, Sogolon has been the last of the blasted Musa clan!"


	5. The Last Musa

Sogolon's limbs trembled beneath Zelda's hands, the unsustainable weight of Ganondorf's declaration threatening to hurl her to the ground. She fell to her knees and splayed her hands against the cold marble, sweat running down her chin and splattering against the floor.

"Sogolon…" Zelda said softly. She pulled ever so gently at the woman's garments. "Come, Sogolon, or he will find us as well…"

Sogolon roughly shoved Zelda's hand away. She clutched Kuna's necklace and closed her eyes, gathering her will.

Zelda heard Sogolon muttering in Gerudo. She bent her head down, trying to understand the words being spoken.

_Spirits of my ancestors…ghosts of those murdered…and the spirit of our guardian the sand fox…give me the strength…_

The trembling in Sogolon's limbs increased tenfold. Zelda felt a strange force seem to envelop them, though its origin or nature she could not determine.

Suddenly Sogolon went rigid, and to Zelda's surprise, stood without any assistance. Then she bolted off toward the sounds of battle.

-&-

Link steadied his shaking hands, blocking each of Ganondorf's thrusts. He was too shocked to go on the offensive. To think that Ganondorf had slaughtered Sogolon's entire clan, his own people…

"Give it up, boy!" Ganondorf snarled. "You've lost. It's just you and the Princess…I have both of you within my reach now, and I will finally claim the full force of the Goddess' power!"

With a massive sweep of his arms, Ganondorf tore the sword out of Link's hands and it clattered and rang against the stone. He raised his arms high, readying for the final thrust, and stabbed downward.

His sword never reached Link.

He felt a white-hot pain in his shoulder, and watched with detached surprise as the Master Sword sliced through. But Link was still lying on the floor.

He followed the blade to the hilt, and saw Sogolon kneeling there, both hands grasping the sword in a death grip.

He roared in agony as he ripped his shoulder out of the blade. Dark blood smoked on the sacred sword, and evaporated, leaving it clean.

Bright red blood ran in a thin thread from Sogolon's hands as she wielded the sword that served another master. As Ganondorf stepped back, Sogolon swung the sword down, still in attack position, and rushed him.

He brought down his own sword just in time. As metal screeched against metal, he gave the Gerudo warrior a lopsided grin. "Milady…did something I said upset you?"

Sogolon spoke, her voice harsher than that of the duelling swords, a gravely tone like a demon's. "Cursed spawn of the tunnel-spider, you will meet your doom at the hands of the last Musa!"

He shoved her backwards, and she stumbled. "Ah yes, the blasted Musa. You're using one of their techniques now, I see…the one called Adreniana, which allows a broken warrior's body to fight until it turns to dust. Very impressive." He brought his sword back for a stabbing thrust. "But it is nothing compared to the powers bestowed upon one blessed by the gods!"

She blocked his thrust, but barely; the sword rang out of her hands, and spots of blood spattered across the floor as she ran to retrieve it. Link picked up the sword and hurled another in her direction.

"I warned you, didn't I?" Ganondorf swung his sword like a bat, knocking Sogolon off her feet before she could reach it. "You're doing it again…helping the Hylian. You were going to betray your people anyway, so what difference does it make that I already disposed of them?"

Link cursed him. "The Goddesses see you! You're not fit to be called a Gerudo! You're just a corrupted corpse, drunk on power!"

Tears ran down Sogolon's cheeks as she picked up the sword and steadied it in her bleeding hands. Her voice was low and gasping, but perfectly clear. "You fool." She hefted the sword in her hands, steeling herself with what little strength she had left. "You have taken the only thing that held me back. I have nothing left to lose. I will die here, but I will take you with me!"

She rushed forward with amazing speed, leaped high in the air, and brought her sword down.

But Ganondorf was no longer there to receive it.

Sogolon and Link looked up in consternation as Ganondorf's voice echoed throughout the ruined mansion. "You hurt me, I'll give you that, Sogolon Musa. But you forgot that a mere mortal cannot win against one who wields the magic of the gods."

He was gone.

With a cry of animal rage and indescribable loss, Sogolon fell to her knees, then collapsed unconscious onto the cold marble floor.

-&-

She could hear the wind howling, filling her head with a cold emptiness. It sounded like the chill wind of the mountains, but somehow, she was warm. Very warm…

Her eyes fluttered open, and focused on the gray ceiling of a cave, shadows jumping on the walls from a flickering fire. She was wrapped in blankets.

"_Shi zula?"_ She asked no one in particular. Where am I?

She heard shuffling to her left, and when she turned her head, she could see both Link and Zelda sitting next to her, their faces anxious. "Are you all right?" Zelda asked.

The memories came flooding back, and tears stung her eyes. She turned away. "Why didn't you just leave me there?" she asked.

"We can't leave you to die, Sogolon…" Link began.

"Why _not?_" She could no longer control herself, and began sobbing shamefully in front of her enemies. "I have no clan. I have no people…I cannot live among the Dragmire, and the lesser clans will not accept me as they are under Ganondorf's power. I can never return to the deserts. What would you do, if every Hylian you ever knew was dead or had been instructed to shoot you on sight?"

She lapsed into Gerudo, crying out to dead friends, aunts, uncles, sisters and brothers, imploring them to take her with them. She matched Ganondorf's name with every oath she could think of, and bid all the gods send him to a thousand hells.

Finally, she grew tired, and lay silently, listening to the popping and crackling of the fire.

Zelda spoke. "Sogolon…if you wish, you can live with us."

It was a bold offer, but Sogolon could not help but sneer. "Live among the Hylians? They will not accept me. Look at me! To them, I am the face of evil."

Link shook his head. "They'll have to accept you, if you help us fight against Ganondorf. He's our common enemy, and always has been."

Sogolon bit her lip. The very idea disgusted her. To live among people who used foul magics, who had persecuted her people for years, weak people who could never survive the trials every Gerudo faced upon adulthood?

"Sogolon…" Link said. "We need your help."

"Don't give up hope, Sogolon," Zelda offered. "There may be other Musa exiles like you…people who escaped Ganondorf's purge and seek a leader to bring the Musa back to their original state."

This argument held promise. Sogolon chewed it over for a while, searching for any hint of manipulation or lack of sincerity.

Finally, she responded in a formal voice. "The Musa clan fights alongside the Hylian Royal Family."

-&-

There were audible gasps from the crowd in the village pub as Sogolon removed her scarf and hood, and stared at them all with steely eyes.

"This is Commander Sogolon Musa," Zelda addressed the crowd of old warriors and armed peasants. "She will be fighting with us."

"A _Gerudo?_" the barman exclaimed, arms crossed. "Beg pardon, your Highness…but you can't be serious." The group murmured in assent.

Link stepped forward. "Sogolon and Ganondorf come from rival clans. Ganondorf committed mass genocide to prevent her clan from attempting to take power. She fights with us, to avenge her people."

A bit of Gerudo wisdom came to Sogolon's mind as he spoke: To win over strangers, use your credentials. "I was the third-in-command," she addressed the crowd, "and I am an expert tracker and fighter. Ganondorf has made a terrible error in destroying my clan, as many of the best Gerudo fighters were among them."

Some of the people nodded and smiled, but there were still grumbles of dissent among the rest. Knowing it would be a severe blow to her pride, Sogolon decided to play to their nationalistic tendencies. Kneeling before Zelda, she offered the Princess her scimitar. As Zelda took it, Sogolon pressed her hands against the floor and bowed so low she could smell the musty wood. "I beg of you to allow me to serve you, to avenge my clan."

It was for show, for the benefit of the crowd; but Zelda knew this, and silently thanked Sogolon for her ingenuity. She tapped both Sogolon's shoulders with the flat side of the scimitar. "Arise, Commander Sogolon Musa, ally of the Hylian Royal Family."

She felt an elbow in her side as the crowd cheered and clapped, and turned to see Link grinning at her. "Smart idea," he said.

She smiled modestly. "It helps to know a little psychology. You never know how people will react."


	6. On Patrol, Under Wraps

The stars shone brightly against a clear sky, chilly air sweeping through the canyon. Sogolon rode slowly, bundled up in a Hylian man's clothes as she scanned the shadows within the jagged rocks. As she came to a small plateau on Hyrule's eastern borders, she reined in her horse and scanned the flatlands stretching out through patchy scrub brush.

Sogolon was on patrol. She and Link regularly rode through the country, looking for clues as to Ganondorf's next move. Zelda stayed either in the refugees' village or other locations known only to Link and the Princess herself. Usually, Sogolon examined the movements of the many dark creatures under the usurper king's sway, avoiding any Dragmire Gerudo she might happen to find. Tonight, however, she had managed to set up a time to meet with a comrade from her brief stint in the scrublands.

She watched the horizon, occasionally looking back behind and around her to ensure she herself was not being watched or followed. After a few minutes, she saw a tiny flash in the moonlight, followed by two more. Sogolon lifted a small mirror and caught the bright light of the moon, returning the signal.

A rider emerged from the brush. He halted slightly upon seeing Sogolon's clothing. "Hail, Kero Mandu," she said to him.

"Hail, Sogolon Musa," he returned the greeting with a small sigh of relief, and nudged his horse closer. "Interesting choice of dress," he said with a wry smile, pulling back his scarf to reveal a scarred, wind burned face.

She pulled back her own face covering. "The Musa clan fights alongside the Hylian royal family."

"That's a first for history. Gerudo fighting with Hylians? Though I suppose when your opponent is that tunnel-spider Ganondorf…"

Sogolon nodded gravely. She leaned in close, asking for the information she had been so desperately searching for, alongside her assigned duty. "Have you heard any word of survivors from the Musa clan?"

His smiling face turned grave. "No, Sogolon. I'm sorry."

They were both silent for a moment as Sogolon turned away in both anger and anguish. She turned back and asked, "What news from the frontier?"

"Ganondorf has begun to harass the eastern tribes. He sent a messenger to our chief not a fortnight ago, who promised us untold riches if we allied with him."

"He didn't agree, did he?" Sogolon demanded, tasting fear.

"No. Our chief is a wise man, and though he knows we are at risk for refusing, he doesn't want to add to Ganondorf's empire either. He said, 'I say neither yea nor nay; I must consider this message and what it means under its fine veneer.'"

"A wise man, your chief."

"Yes…but that's not the end of the story, as you might have guessed. The messenger came back yesterday, and asked again. He got the same answer. When he left, he said he would return again a fortnight from now…and if he didn't get 'the right response', he said, it would not bode well for us."

"Curse that man. I can ask the Hylians to lend their strength – they have sworn to assist any enemy of Ganondorf's – by they don't have much to lend."

Kero smiled grimly. "Tell the Hylians we thank them, but we would fight Ganondorf even without their help."

Sogolon nodded. "If you need anything further, you know how to reach me. I will try to contact you again before the fortnight is up, and let you know if we have learned anything new about Ganondorf's forces or methods."

He nodded back. "Until then…may the stones remember the sound of our passing."

-&-

Usually Sogolon went directly to the small ramshackle house she had claimed in the refugees' village immediately after returning. The obvious reason was because she was tired. But also, she made little talk with the inhabitants. They still seemed unsure what to think of a Gerudo in their town, and she was aware of a few that still stated they did not trust her – though only to friends, not to her face and not to their fearless leaders. There was one exception, though she tried to avoid him as well.

She could not escape her shadow this time; he was waiting for her at the village entrance. "I say, Sogolon, I've made the most magnificent find," Shad said as he trotted alongside her, not noticing that she was purposely ignoring him. "It appears to be a musical instrument made out of the horn of an ibex." He produced the item in question. "Would you be so kind as to play us a tune?"

Sogolon gave the horn a brief look, trying to conceal her irritation. "I'm sorry, Shad, but I don't know how to play. There was a woman who could play the ibex horn in my raiding group, but…" She left the thought hanging there.

"Oh, terribly sorry," Shad tripped over himself in his apology. "I didn't mean any harm by it…will you be at the inn tonight? The story you told me about the adulthood ceremony was most fascinating…"

She stopped, and sighed. "Shad, these are sacred things back home. There are probably no longer any Musa to follow them now, but I'd appreciate it if we kept our talks to your home or mine, rather than giving them as fireside tales to people who wouldn't understand or appreciate them."

"Well, see, I actually wanted to address that…I believe the rest of the residents would be more friendly if they knew more about the true history of your people…"

Sogolon put her hand on the doorknob to her house. "Your idea has merit, but I cannot consider it now. I have been riding for sixteen hours and I need to get some rest."

"Of course! Of course. I'll see you later then." He turned and trotted off.

With a sigh, Sogolon opened the door and walked into the little house, stretched out on the simple bed in the corner, and fell asleep.

She was awakened several hours later by piercing screams. Grabbing her scimitar, she raced out the door. At her left were several small children running from a flock of dark bats, the adults convening on them and beating the bats away with sticks. Sogolon rushed forward, neatly slicing bat after bat in two.

When they all lay dead on the ground, the children expressed their thanks by hugging her legs. Sogolon said to one of the mothers as she picked up her little boy, "Why do you allow the children to play near the villages' borders? They could easily be hurt."

The woman looked at her in surprise. "These are dangerous times, but we can't have them living their whole lives in the house. In peacetime they would begin traveling far from home at a very young age. How else would they learn bravery and responsibility?"

Sogolon shrugged. "In Gerudo society, children are kept within the city walls until it is time for the adulthood ceremony."

"It must come as quite a shock, after living without danger all that time."

"It does…but we endure it together."

The woman smiled. "Well, I suppose it can work that way too."

Sogolon felt someone tugging at her clothing. She looked down to see a small girl staring up intently at her. "Miss Gerudo, we went outside because we heard someone yell."

"You heard someone yell?"

"Yes, it sounded like they were yelling for help. Will you go see?"

Sogolon frowned at the child, wondering if the girl was making this up. Finally she nodded, feeling that it would not hurt to check.

She strode out into the fields, watching carefully and calling out here and there. She was about to turn back when she heard scuffling and a weak voice return her call. Sogolon ran toward it, and was surprised to see a little knot of goblins surrounding someone balled up on the ground. Sogolon waded in and flashed her sword, and the creatures scattered.

She looked down upon the person huddled there, and drew in her breath. The clothing streaked crimson had been woven in the ancient Musa style.

The person raised his head, and his face split into joy upon seeing her. "Aunt Sogolon, you're alive!"


	7. Tunnelspiders and Desert Termites

Sogolon drew in her breath, taking an instinctive step back, fearing being haunted by a ghost. But the young man raised a trembling hand and she could see red blood drip from it onto the dusty ground. "Aunt Sogolon…it's me…"

She struggled to speak. "Matu Musa…how can it be…?"

"We escaped, barely…just a few of us…"

"You escaped the massacre?! Who did? How many?"

Matu's face constricted and his elbows buckled, throwing him face-first into the dust. Sogolon snapped out of her trance and lifted her teenage nephew's body from the ground, then ran as fast as she could back to the village.

She burst into the inn, nearly knocking the door off its hinges. "Quickly!" she bellowed to the few people still in the bar. "I need bandages, water, blankets!"

The barman looked doubtfully at the bundle in her arms, his eyes resting on the red hair, the dark skin. "Is that another Gerudo?"

Another man cocked his head and looked at Matu as if he were some strange creature Sogolon had caught in a fishing net. "Is that a _male_ Gerudo?"

Sogolon ignored them both and rushed up the stairs to the rooms, deciding angrily that she would tend to Matu herself. As she snatched a bucket full of water from the kitchen she heard the barman yell behind her, "You know, we barely have enough supplies for _us_, Lady Gerudo."

Sogolon set the bucket down with a clunk and marched up to the barman, bringing her face close to his. "Matu Musa is the son of my dead brother, who was executed by Ganondorf's own hand for challenging his laws."

Once they heard Matu was the son of a rebel, the entire group's demeanor changed completely. One man grabbed the bucket and ran up the stairs with it. The barman rushed to put on a kettle of soup. Another man started tearing old blankets to create makeshift bandages. Sogolon dunked the rags in the water and began wrapping Matu's wounds with the few fragments of Fairy's-blood she had left. As she patched up the injuries, she noticed that Matu's left leg lay at a slight angle. Scowling, she fetched two small pieces of lumber from a corner of the room and wrapped the leg in a splint.

"I don't suppose there is anyone here who knows how to set a broken bone," she asked the barman as he brought up a bowl of hot soup.

He shook his head. "The Princess has healing powers, but she won't be back for another week yet. That's a good splint…it should work for now. Here, my old lady's special recipe. Once he wakes up, let him have some."

Sogolon nodded, watching Matu's face anxiously. "Thank you," she said simply, trying to convey the depth of emotion that went with it.

-&-

Matu stayed unconscious all that night, so the barman put the soup back over the fire and Sogolon stayed at his side, sitting in a chair next to the bed. It was mid-morning before he awoke. His eyes fluttered open, and he looked around him in confusion, finally asking, "Aunt Sogolon…where are we?"

Sogolon pressed her hand to his forehead and looked into his eyes, trying to determine his level of health. "We are in a Hylian village."

"What?! Are we prisoners here?" Matu attempted to sit up, then let out a little cry of pain as he moved his broken leg.

Sogolon pressed her hands to his shoulders and forced him back down onto the bed. "We are not prisoners. We are refugees from the Dragmire clan, as are the Hylians here."

He shot her a look of disgust. "Living with Hylians? Are you out of your mind?"

She frowned at him. "Do you know any Musa we could live with?"

His eyes grew wide as he remembered. "Oh, oh! The others fled to the eastern tribes. Aunt Omori, Uncle Sabado, my cousin Taisa…" He ticked names off his fingers as Sogolon listened eagerly, hungrily, a tiny pinpoint of hope lighting up as she recognized each name.

The barman, carrying a new bowl of soup, interrupted them. "I see the young lad's awake. Here, kid, have some of this, it'll give you back your strength."

Matu looked wary; Sogolon took the bowl from the barman and thanked him. As he left, Matu demanded, "Do you really expect me to eat that? What if it's poisoned?"

Sogolon held it out to him. "You've been living inside the fortress walls too long. That tunnel-spider must want you all raised as fools. Here, I'll test a bit and show you." She raised the spoon to her lips as Matu waved his hands in protest, trying to knock it out of her grasp. "See? No poison. Now eat."

He reluctantly took the bowl and spoon and raised a bit to his lips. He made a face, but his stomach growled audibly and he continued to eat. He stopped after a few bites to examine a bit of meat in the spoon, then dropped the spoon back in the bowl and set it on the bedside table, as far away from him as possible. "There's fish in this! These people eat fish!"

"This is no time to be picky," Sogolon snapped, picking the soup up again. "There's a famine on. I know Gerudo don't normally eat fish, but I've eaten it on long raids so there's no reason you can't."

Still more faces. "I don't know how you can stomach such disgusting swill."

Her eyes narrowed. "I don't want you speaking like that here. We are guests of these people. They helped tend your injuries."

He snarled. "Guests of Hylians?"

Pulling his ear until he yelped, she hissed, "Listen carefully. I am your father's sister, I am a commander-"

"_Was_ a commander," he cut in sullenly.

She pulled harder. "I _am_ a commander, and I am the eldest Musa within miles of where you are. So you will _listen_ to what I say, and you will forget the nonsense the Dragmire clan has put into your head." She released his ear and he rubbed it, scowling.

Sogolon picked up the wraparound cloak he had been wearing. "I'm going to see if I can wash the blood and dust out of this. I want to see that bowl empty when I come back, or else."

She carried the soiled clothing in a bucket to the village well, and pushed the creaky old pump several times before brownish water poured out. Using a bit of camphor she had found in a back closet of her shanty, she began scrubbing away at the crimson stains.

A little boy, swatting at rushes with an imaginary sword, walked over to inspect her work. "I didn't know Gerudo did laundry," he commented, looking as if it were the most fascinating thing he'd seen in ages.

"Did you think we never washed our clothes?" Sogolon asked without hostility.

"Nah…I figured maybe you made the people you kidnapped do it for you."

"That really didn't happen all that often, you know."

The boy shrugged. "Is the Evil King really that mean to your people, too?"

She held up the garments for emphasis. "If he wasn't, do you think he'd do this?"

Before the boy could answer, they heard a yell and the sound of something smashing coming from the inn, out of the window of the room where Matu was resting. "Spirits of the ancestors, give me solace," Sogolon muttered, and ran to the inn, leaving the laundry at the pump.

She burst into the room to find the barman yelling at Matu, who was yelling at Shad, who was attempting to pick up the shattered pieces of the soup bowl on the floor. "What's going on here?" Sogolon demanded.

"He attacked Shad and broke my bowl!" the barman exclaimed, pointing to Matu.

"He touched me!" Matu shrieked, pointing at Shad.

"I'm terribly sorry," Shad stammered. "I wanted a closer look at the weaving on his clothing…I'd never seen an example of the Drought-Corn Side-Weave before…"

"All right." She turned to the barman. "I will find, buy, or make you another bowl. You can have my last 10 rupees as a down payment." He took the money, grunted his thanks, and left. "Shad, do me a favor and get the Musa Codex, then wait for me in the bar. I'll take care of the bowl."

"Oh! Oh, of course." He stood and ran out the door.

Sogolon rounded on Matu. "I know this is rough for you, especially after fleeing Ganondorf's purge. But you have a duty as a Musa to act like a Musa…and you're going to learn how, from Shad."

Matu stared at her as if she had sentenced him to death. "Have you lost your mind? Be taught how to act like a Musa…by a _Hylian_? Why can't you do it?"

"Three reasons. One, I am due to go back out on patrol soon. Two, I still haven't slept and need to recover from my _last_ patrol. Three, you need to learn how to interact with the Hylians…and Shad is the probably the least intimidating one I can find."

Sulking, he replied, "I'm not intimidated by those…desert termites," referring to ugly maggoty creatures that lived in great stone structures.

"Then you shouldn't have any problem dealing with him. And I don't ever want to hear the words 'desert termites' again. Understand?"

-&-

After hanging Matu's clothing out to dry and getting him settled with Shad, Sogolon promptly fell asleep in a chair next to them. Matu sat up in the bed, trying not to make his boredom too obvious, as Shad went on long tangents regarding his interpretation of a story passage containing a scorpion king's request to his wife. They both tried to make themselves heard over Sogolon's loud snoring, but not so much that they would wake her up, both fearing what would happen if she did.

They heard footsteps up the stairs, and Matu glanced up to see the person in the doorway. He shrieked, pulling the blankets up around him as he stared wide-eyed in fear. "Aunt Sogolon! Help, help!"

"Uhn…What?!" Sogolon leaped up, sword drawn, scanning the room for the threat. "What is it? Where is it?"

Matu pointed a shaking finger at the person in the doorway.

"Oh." Sogolon put her scimitar away and walked up to meet him. "I guess it would make sense that Ganondorf would teach you to fear him."

Link laughed as he walked in the door. "I seem to remember you being a little defensive when we first met," he said to her.

"What would you expect? I still had a quiver of Dragmire arrows in me." She brought Link over to the bedside, motioning toward the shaking boy in the bed. "This is my nephew, Matu Musa."

Link smiled benignly and offered his hand. "So I heard when I came into town. It's a pleasure to meet another member of Sogolon's family."

Matu didn't move.

"You'll have to excuse him," Sogolon said to Link. "He's lived under Ganondorf's rule his whole life. Can we step outside for a moment? I need to ask you a few things."

Once they were out the door, Sogolon asked, "Do you mind taking on the patrol for another few days? You've seen what Matu is like…I don't trust him around Hylians without me around."

Link raised an eyebrow. "You're more concerned about the villagers than Matu's health?"

"Yes, actually. Matu may have lived within the fortress walls his whole life, but he is still a Gerudo. His mind and body are quite tough, more so than anyone in this village…save us. I'm also not sure what Ganondorf has taught him over the years. I've paired him with Shad to teach him both about the Hylians and his true Musa history."

Link nodded. "That's probably a good idea. I can sleep tonight and then go back on patrol."

"Another thing. He has a broken leg. Do you know when Zelda will next be back in the village?"

"In the next week or so, I think."

"I'm sorry this puts you in the hinterlands for so long."

He laughed. "I'm used to it. Besides, Zelda and I really shouldn't be in the same place at once."

Sogolon smiled warmly, gratitude bubbling up within her. "Thank you…I hope I can repay you in some way. You have no idea…what this means to me…"

He clapped her on the shoulder. "It's all right. In times like these, we need to watch out for each other."

"Yes…well…I thank the fates that our paths have crossed." She looked as if she were about to say something more, then finally nodded to the door. "I'm going to get some proper sleep now, in a bed. Thanks again."


	8. Shifting Sands of Time

_Twelve Years Earlier…_

The unrelenting Gerudo sun beat mercilessly down upon the ground, but Sogolon Musa sat comfortably in the small adobe block that served as her family's home. She sat at a table, fitting a new string to her bow, a quiver full of newly made arrows at her side. She wore the simple sleeveless linen blouse and loose pants that all Gerudo did while at home, her traveling cloak hung up on a peg on the wall. Her sandals stood just outside the door.

The sound of eager, small footsteps reached her ears, and she turned to see her ten-year-old brother running up to the door. "What is it, Sundiata?" she asked. "You shouldn't run in this heat."

He crossed over the threshold and nearly collapsed, his thin legs trembling. Sogolon reached for a dipperful of water and instructed him to drink it slowly. Born during the Great Famine, he had never been very strong. Usually this would bring derision from the rest of the tribe, but they left Sundiata alone; it would be too much to bear considering he knew his mother had died giving birth to him.

Finally, after several gulps of water, he gasped out what he wanted to say. "Father got a message in the market…he said I could tell you. Our leader wants to see you!"

Taken aback, Sogolon asked, "Are you sure?" She hunted through her clothes and exchanged her simple blouse for a ceremonial one given to her by her father upon completion of the Proving Grounds. It was woven in a Musa pattern of complex wavy lines, mimicking the ever-shifting sands of the desert.

"Yes…Father told me I could tell you. Can I come with you? Please?" He reached for her quiver, curious, but she pulled it away. It was bad luck for a Musa male to touch any kind of weapon.

She smiled and took his hand. "You can come for part of the way if you like."

"I can walk on my own. I'm fine." Sundiata wriggled free of her grasp and trotted alongside her.

Several people greeted them both, either friends of hers or his. Most of them belonged to the Musa clan, but there were a few Dragmire males that she had trained with, and of course they had several friends among the lesser clans.

"Kabila Musa's just about the best leader ever, isn't he, Sogolon?"

She nodded. "I only wish he had come along sooner. Perhaps then the Great Famine wouldn't have been so bad."

"I'm studying the irrigation techniques he created during the Famine. Maybe if I come up with an even better one, I can be leader!"

Sogolon laughed. "What?" Sundiata demanded, indignant. "Just because Kabila's the first male Musa to be leader in history doesn't mean that it can't happen again!"

"I admire your ambition." She tousled his hair fondly. "What you don't have in physical strength, you make up in determination."

They came to the entrance to the leader's chambers, and Sogolon let go of Sundiata's hand. "Make sure you tell me all about it, okay?" he insisted.

"Of course." She waved as he ran back to the market, to join his father.

Sogolon had never been in the leader's chambers before, and she looked around her somewhat nervously at the Dragmire guards who lined the hallways. But they paid her no attention, and she steeled herself for her meeting with their great leader.

Sogolon entered and kneeled in the main room, where Kabila Musa sat sprawled on a throne of camel-bones, lined in fox furs and silk from far regions. A feathered totem mask hung above him. A portly man, Kabila was known more for his mind than his physical strength or fighting ability. But it was his mind that had saved the Gerudo from extinction during the Great Famine.

"So this is the one that completed the proving grounds in record time, eh?" he asked rhetorically, with a hearty laugh. "Welcome, Sogolon Musa, and well met!"

"Greetings, Kabila Musa," she said, and stood, finally able to get a good look at him and the two people standing next to him. On his right side was Ganondorf Dragmire, leader of both the Musa and Dragmire raiders. He had brought great wealth to the Gerudo since he had taken the position, though whispered rumors told of what he did to get it. His eyes rested a little too long on the sand fox tattoo on Sogolon's upper arm, symbol of the Musa clan. On his left side stood Nabooru, the only Gerudo of mixed Musa and Dragmire blood. She had inherited from her family the role of spiritual advisor, and oversaw the Spirit Temple on the far side of their lands. Her family took no last name, as a symbol of their uniting force among the Gerudo. It was said that Nabooru had been gifted with the second sight at a younger age than anyone else in her family.

"I have a proposition for you, Sogolon," Kabila told her. "The position of head raider among the Musa has been open for some time. I give to you that position, as you seem to possess great talent and potential."

Sogolon tried not to fall over as she bowed; normally, such a position would not even be thinkable until five years as a regular raider. "Thank you, Kabila Musa…it is a great honor…." She stammered. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Nabooru smiling; but a scowl touched the corners of Ganondorf's lips.

-&-

"Sogolon." Ganondorf approached her after a brief strategy discussion. "Would you speak with me privately for a moment?"

She nodded, and he led her away from the bonfire, into the darkness under the desert stars. "I heard that you are fluent in both reading and speaking Hylian. Is this true?"

She nodded. "It is always good to know the language of one's enemies."

His eyes flashed as he gave her a nod. "You've been doing well in your role as head raider, so I wanted to ask you if you'd be interested in an…unorthodox mission." Sogolon indicated she was listening, and he leaned in close, anticipation and excitement tingling in his voice. "They say the Hylians are so prosperous because they are in possession of a great power, a magic relic. This relic is guarded by the royal family. It is said that anyone who touches it is granted a wish that can give them incredible power, over not only Hyrule but the rest of the world!"

Sogolon regarded his eagerness with skepticism. "Sounds like a fairy tale to me. I don't see the point of harassing those termites."

He shrugged. "I'm sure some of the finer points have been lost in translation. But I think it's worth investigating…how else can such a weak people be so prosperous and militarily powerful?"

"What do you want me to do?" she asked. "Find this relic? How do we even know it exists?"

He shook his head. "I don't want you to attempt to find it or bring it back. It could have hidden dangers attached to it. All I want is for you to find some proof of its existence…and instructions on how to get it, if you can."

-&-

After her fourth month in Hyrule, Sogolon had finally begun to hear whisperings of the legend connected to the ancient relic, known as the Triforce. Unfortunately, the royal family guarded its secrets well, and before long she realized she would have to enter the castle itself.

It was fairly easy getting past the guards; they did not seem to be very attentive. Using little more than simple stealth, she managed to find a small library without having to strike down a single soldier.

She poured over moldy scrolls and manuscripts, many of them mentioning the Triforce but few going into any detail. The more she read about it, the less feasible it seemed for her people to use it. For one thing, it was stored in someplace called the "Sacred Realm", which she could not be sure was part of the real world at all. In order to enter this place, a number of items had to be collected from high-level members of the Royal Family and its allies. On top of all that, the thing would not work properly if the "wrong person" touched it, but it didn't describe what the requirements were. Sogolon focused on what she could confirm, and concentrated on memorizing the symbol connected to the relic, as well as the names of the items connected to it.

"You there! Halt!" Sogolon's head jerked up to see a soldier standing in the doorway, pointing an accusing finger at her. She stuffed some of the documents in her cloak and rushed to the window, scrambling down the ivy that snaked across the walls. By the time she reached the platform, an alarm echoed across the castle and she could hear an alarm echoing all over the castle. She grasped her scimitar in her hand and gritted her teeth, weighing her options. She was in a bad position, and if she killed anyone, it would be that much worse for her if she were captured.

A pair of guards jumped out of a doorway and rushed her; she threw them both flat on their backs with a couple of high kicks and knocked them senseless with the flat of her sword. More of them swarmed from every corner of the castle, like angry bees defending their hive. Sogolon leaped on top of the battlements and began running along the narrow stones, lashing out at the soldiers that tried to grab or trip her.

She skidded to an unsteady halt at the end of the battlements, surrounded on all sides by Hylian soldiers, a couple of arrows whistling just past her. The main castle wall was far too high for her to jump. However, there was a tall tree standing next to the wall. It was a long shot, but voluntary surrender was not an option for a Gerudo raider.

With a silent prayer to the sand fox, she made a flying leap over the wall and into the tree. She gritted her teeth as she slammed into the upper branches, snapping them off and tumbling onto the larger boughs. She made a few grabs, missed each time, and found herself falling from one of the higher branches to the ground. Bracing herself, she rolled upon impact, but felt a ripping pain in her ankle.

She attempted to stand, but knew that she had twisted her ankle in the fall. As the guards approached, spears at the ready, Sogolon dropped her weapon and held up her hands.

They searched her roughly; taking the documents she had stolen from the library, and threw her into a small cell in the dungeon. The cell contained only a pile of moldy straw to sleep on, and the guards crowded around as if she were an exotic animal in a zoo.

"I've never seen a Gerudo before," a younger man said.

"Do you think it's true that they eat the men they've taken as husbands?" another asked.

"Don't get too close! She'll have your hand for dinner," said a third, and they all laughed. Sogolon scowled but said nothing. She was not about to let her enemies know she could understand their language, let alone read it.

Four lonely months she spent in that cell, yearning to talk to someone but not wanting to lose the one strategic advantage she had. She watched for opportunities to escape, but there were none. She exercised as well as she could in those cramped quarters, to keep her body from atrophying, trying to ignore the stares of the young male guards as she did. They gave her fish to eat, and watched knowingly as she stared at it in disgust, but Sogolon forced it down anyway as she knew she would get nothing else; she was a survivor of the Great Famine, after all, and many of her people had been forced to quell hunger pains with dirt. She listened for news of her homeland, and from the bits and pieces of conversation she heard, she learned that there was some sort of disturbance in the Gerudo desert. That, of course, just made her more frustrated and eager to find a way home.

Finally, unexpectedly, the guard opened her cell door one day and motioned for her to come out. They bound her hands with rope, set her on a horse, and began riding to the far edge of Hyrule. From the conversation between them she could gather that the King had set her free because she was simply charged with trespassing, and trying to steal documents to sell. The King had such a low opinion of her intelligence that he never imagined she would be able to read his documents and understand the promises offered by the Triforce. At Hyrule's border, they untied her hands and gave her a little push, watching to make sure she didn't return. Sogolon walked all the way back home.

She sensed some great change had been made when she entered the fortress walls, but she could not figure out what it was. One of the guard recognized her and approached her. "You're finally back from your mission! Our leader instructed us to bring you to him once you returned."

Sogolon wondered in trepidation what Kabila Musa would say upon hearing she had been captured by the Hylians while on some fool's mission. She feared that he would take away her position. And what had happened to her family while she had been gone?

She entered the throne room and gasped upon seeing the man sitting on the throne. Ganondorf Dragmire sat with his head resting on one hand, his face split in a grin of hungry excitement. "Greetings, Milady. What information have you found for me regarding the power of the Hylians?"

-&-&-&-&-

In the shabby inn of the refugees' village, Sogolon watched the sunrise as she got dressed. Several years of chaos had followed that moment, when Ganondorf diverted nearly all the Gerudo resources to his goal of gaining the Triforce, only to have it split into three pieces upon touching it. On top of that, the Hylian Princess and a stranger from the backcountry had managed to drive him back to the desert, keeping only the piece of the magic relic that had driven him insane. Sogolon had led her raiders on longer and longer missions, staying as far away from him as possible. It was on one of these treks that she began to hear whisperings of the Book of Musa.

She opened her door and walked down the hallway and stairs to breakfast. Several villagers nodded to her as she sat down to a bowl of porridge. She ate slowly, the memories making her feel strangely old, and worn. At thirty-five, she was past her prime. The lifespan of a Gerudo was notoriously short. She wondered, briefly, if it were not Power that Ganondorf had sought, but immortality.


	9. Kidnapped

"And what did Marsail Musa discover?"

Matu sat listlessly in bed, his head resting on his palm. "How to follow the stars to find one's way across the desert."

"Very good!" Shad praised. Matu scowled.

Sogolon stepped into Matu's room with a smile. "And what are we learning today?"

Shad turned toward Matu, who grudgingly replied, "Famous Musa."

"Well, actually, the whole book's full of famous Musa," Shad jumped in. "These are Musa who have contributed that have been adopted by other races as well." Matu stuck his tongue out at him.

Frowning, Sogolon stepped up to the bedside. "Matu, I know you are better behaved than that."

Matu only scowled deeper. "Why can't you teach me, Aunt Sogolon?"

"We've been through this. You need to learn how to interact with other people." She regarded him carefully, then said, "I think maybe once your leg is properly healed, we should start on adulthood training."

"That's for _Dragmire_ boys. And Musa _girls_." Matu said the words as if Sogolon was trying to group him in with idiots and lepers.

"There aren't enough Musa left to worry about who is 'supposed to do' what. We're going to go back to the ancient system of picking who's best for the job."

Matu sneered. "What, do you think you're the leader of the Gerudo now?"

She leaned down close to him. "I am, and always have been, the highest-ranking Musa. Remember that." She turned to Shad. "He's not giving you too much trouble, is he?"

Shad smiled. "Not at all. At least he listens when I tell him about ancient things."

"I don't have a choice," Matu scoffed.

The barman appeared at the door entrance. "Miss Sogolon, could you join me downstairs for a moment?"

"What is it?" she asked as she followed him down the stairs.

He spoke softly, his head close to hers. "Her Highness has returned. Didn't want to broadcast it."

A crowd of people huddled in one corner of the bar. Sogolon stepped quickly up to the woman in the travel-stained cloak. "Greetings, Zelda."

A few people looked irritably at her, wondering why she never bowed to their leader after that first display of submission. But Zelda had explained several times that she considered Sogolon to be the representative of the Gerudo people, Ganondorf's name never being spoken in the town. "Greetings, Sogolon." She smiled compassionately. "I heard that you found one of your lost clan."

Sogolon nodded. "Thank you, yes. He is upstairs with Shad. Will you see to him? He broke a leg on the way here and has been confined to bed for a week."

"Of course. Give me a few moments to change clothes, and I will meet you upstairs."

Fifteen minutes later Zelda stepped into Musa's room. Shad slapped his book shut in surprise and nearly tumbled over himself as he bowed. Matu simply stared at her, an odd expression on his face. She wore a dress more finely woven than the rough traveling clothes she had before, but they were still a far cry from the rich attire associated with the Hylian royals. To Sogolon's surprise, Matu did not struggle as Zelda examined his half-healed leg, chatting softly with him as she gently felt the bone beneath the skin. Sogolon examined his face, trying to decipher the strange look he gave the Princess. He was at that age where it would be normal for him to stare at pretty women, but that wasn't what the look meant.

"This has healed slightly to the side," Zelda explained. "It will need to be re-broken and set again. Don't worry, this won't hurt." She spread her hands over Matu's leg and set her face in a look of intense concentration. Sogolon watched Matu's face, seeing an odd flicker cross his face when he watched the mark of the Triforce appear on the back of one hand.

Zelda finished, and bade Matu to test out his leg. He got out of bed and stood uncertainly, then leaned on the healed leg and nodded in approval. "It feels fine."

Sogolon embraced her nephew. "Thank you, Zelda," she said, taking the Princess' hand. "It means a lot to me."

Zelda turned to Matu, who looked away. "Thank you," he muttered.

She turned back to Sogolon. "Will you come with me to my room, please?"

They left Matu with Shad and walked down the hall to the Princess' room, only slightly less shabby than the rest of the inn. Zelda locked the door carefully behind them and turned to Sogolon, concern on her face. "We've received intelligence that Ganondorf knows you are living somewhere in this area. It might be advisable for you to move."

Sogolon nodded. "That's fine, I need to relieve Link from patrol anyway. I'll bring Matu with me, I want to put him through adulthood training."

"About that…" Zelda's eyes flicked to the door. "You must watch your nephew carefully. Ganondorf's influence runs deep within him."

"Yes…I can see it as well. I've been trying to break him of it by asking Shad to teach him. But he only seems resentful."

"A lot has happened to him, Sogolon. It is very hard for an adult to digest all he has been through, let alone someone who is still technically a child."

Folding her arms, Sogolon said, "I suppose it's never too early for his training, then. A little bit of struggle in the wild will give him confidence and break his mind away from the Dragmire nonsense that has eaten his mind."

Zelda touched Sogolon's arm. "Good luck. I have already sent a message to Link; he should be here tomorrow. Then you and I should both leave, in separate directions."

-&-

"Do you need a drink of water?"

"I can get it myself." Matu batted Sogolon's hand away from the dipper and sucked it dry. "I'm not a baby, you know. And I wasn't a baby when I had a broken leg, either."

She shrugged. "Well, you can start proving it tomorrow. We're going to move on and start your training."

He tumbled into bed, sullen. "If you say so. I don't have much of a choice."

Impatience flickered across Sogolon's face. "Would you rather be among the dead?"

His body jerked, and she immediately felt guilty for saying that. "No," he mumbled.

She tousled his hair in a rare gesture of affection. "I'm sorry. Go to sleep, we have much to do in the morning." She turned down the lamp and left for her own room.

Sogolon turned over and over in the bed, running Zelda's words through her mind. She wished she didn't have to move; she was actually starting to get attached to the people here. She forced the thought out of her mind, and finally fell asleep.

She jolted violently awake as someone pulled at her arm and screamed in her ear. "Sogolon! Sogolon, wake up!"

The room swam around her as her mind adjusted to wakefulness and she saw Shad's terrified face in front of her. "Shad, what is it?"

"Matu! It was Matu! By the gods…" He clutched at his head and dissolved into gibberish. Sogolon could hear screams and yells coming from the bar below them.

She leaped out of bed and grabbed her scimitar. "What happened? Did someone hurt Matu?"

Shad shook his head rapidly, opening and closing his mouth like a fish. "Matu…he took…he took…" The words were too horrible to speak, and he leaned forward, struggling to bring them forth.

Sogolon slapped him across the face. "Matu took what? This is no time to go dumb!"

"He kidnapped the Princess!" Shad wailed. "He's taken Zelda to Ganondorf!"

"_WHAT?!_ Are you _sure?_"

Shad pointed mutely to the door. Sogolon threw on her clothes and rushed down the stairs, noting the two empty rooms where Matu and Zelda had been staying, their doors thrown wide open.

It was bedlam. People ran in and out of doors, shouting over and over what they had seen, a few of them making a few passing kicks or punches at Sogolon. She ignored them, listening to what they said, sifting information from their words. Hearing "horses" and "Hyrule Field", she pulled her own horse from its stable and leaped astride, galloping down the path where they pointed.

She could barely see a small knot of people on horses far ahead of her. She spurred her steed, crouching low in the saddle. Sogolon scowled as she counted five horses, one with two people. So Matu had help. Had he planned this all along? Zelda had mentioned Ganondorf knew of her whereabouts. He had just waited for her to come in touch with the one he wanted. As she drew nearer, she could see the kidnappers' clothing, woven in the pattern of the wild boar. Dragmire raiders.

She drew her bow and loosed an arrow. It struck one of the raiders square in the back, and he fell of his horse, dead. Of course, the others turned at the noise and began firing arrows at Sogolon. She dodged them, deftly twitching her horse from side to side, and studied the riders and their mounts as she frantically cobbled together a strategy.

Arrows fell like rain, and she knew she had little chance of getting closer without attempting something drastic. Knowing she was about to commit a vile sin, she raised her bow and this time shot the hindmost horse in the leg. It squealed in pain, threw its rider and fell to the ground.

Angry yells stung her ears as she pushed her horse closer to the remaining three horses; two with Gerudo raiders, and one with Matu and Zelda. The Princess sat in front of Matu in the saddle, her hands bound behind her back.

"Yaah, Sogolon!" one of the raiders taunted her. "So now you kill horses too? All to stop your nephew from completing his task? Which is your clan, the Musa or the termites?" He and the other raider laughed viciously.

Sogolon ignored them and called out to Matu. "Sundiata Musa's son, I command you as leader of the Musa to return!"

More laughter from the raiders. "If he doesn't do what he's told, the pathetic scraps of the Musa will die!" the other one taunted.

"What?" Sogolon looked at Matu for an explanation.

"I'm sorry, Aunt Sogolon!" came his anguished reply. "I lied when I told you they were with the eastern tribes. What's left of us is still at the fortress. Ganondorf said that if I don't bring Zelda to him, he'll kill the rest of the Musa!"

"Twice-blasted, corpse-eating tunnel-spider!" Sogolon whipped out her sword in a rage. "I will bleed him over the graves of our murdered clan and throw his body to the vultures!"

The raiders jeered at her. "Eh, Sogolon," the first one called out, "Does your new friend know who helped bring Ganondorf to power in the first place?" he pulled at Zelda's hair.

Sogolon blanched, then spurred her horse up to the side of the taunting raider. She reached out and pinned his arms to his sides, trying to wrestle him off his horse. He snarled and bit her nose, her shoulder, her cheek. Blood running down her face, she head-butted him and he tumbled off onto the ground.

She turned back toward Matu, but the last raider squeezed in between them and suddenly halted. Sogolon's horse reared up, and she fell over backwards onto the ground.

The fall knocked the wind out of her. Gasping for breath, she rolled over and raised herself on her hands and knees, concentrating on forcing air in, out, in, out. Her head spun and she leaned forward on her elbows, trying desperately not to faint.

As her head began to clear, she struggled to her feet. A violent blow across her back drove her to her knees once more. She painfully raised her head and saw one of the fallen raiders standing over her with his scimitar, another one running up behind him. "So, Sogolon Musa," he said, kicking her own scimitar out of her reach, "How the mighty have fallen. You were once the envy of our people, when you brought news of the forbidden Hylian treasure to our great leader."

He leaned down close to her face. "He knew you had betrayed him even back then, Sogolon. He knew that you were aware there was much about the Triforce that you hadn't learned yet, and that you let him leap into the fray hoping to pay him back from toppling the pitiable Musa king from his high perch. But he decided to give you another chance, as he hoped to make use of your talents."

Sogolon spat at both of them as the other man leaned down as well. "I don't care about your twisted words, dung beetle."

"You'll care about Ganondorf's," the second man replied. "He wants you to know that you are no longer useful." He grinned. "Normally, we bring traitors back for punishment, but he said that all he wanted was your head." They both raised their swords.

The first one emitted a sharp cry, and nearly fell on her, an arrow embedded in his back. The second one whirled around just in time to receive another one in the chest, and fell over dead as well. Sogolon raised her head to see Link riding toward her.

He reined in his horse, dismounted and helped her stand. "Are you all right?"

"I'll live. How did you know I was here?"

He pointed to the Triforce symbol on the back of his hand. "Zelda told me."

Sogolon bowed her head in shame. "I'm sorry…I should have watched Matu more closely. I had no idea that he would…"

"Don't worry about that now. This isn't the first time something like this has happened. Can you go on?"

"Yes, just a few cuts and bruises, nothing serious."

"We've got to follow them, and see if we can catch up to them before they reach Ganondorf. Can you track them?"

"I can."

"Good." He mounted his horse, and Sogolon did the same. "Lead on!"


	10. To Restore Honor

Sogolon leaned low over the side of her horse, trying to keep it at a slow gallop as she tracked the hoof-pocked ground. Link rode silently behind her, trusting her to lead them in the right direction. She knew she could follow the raiders' trail with no trouble…but she doubted that they would catch up to Matu before they reached the first Gerudo checkpoint.

She had to admit defeat when they rode into the brushlands, a small pillar of stones indicating that the checkpoint lay just ahead. As she reined in her horse, Link pulled up beside her, confused. "Why are we stopping? Did you lose the trail?"

Sogolon shook her head. "We can follow them…but if we go this way, we'll never return. We're entering Gerudo territory now, and I'm sure every checkpoint is well guarded. We might be able to force our way through one or two, but after that…"

He gazed anxiously over the landscape. "We can't just stop here."

She considered for a moment, then twitched her horse to the right. "I know another passage. We can't bring our horses, but it's shorter, so we should be able to get there in the same amount of time." Link said nothing, simply following as she spurred her horse toward a set of low mountains. After weaving through several hundred yards of well-eroded, pockmarked rocks, she stopped and dismounted in front of a thin trail almost indistinguishable from the dried-up rivulets of water that cascaded down the hills in the rainy season.

She turned to him and pointed to his hat. "You should attempt to disguise yourself a little bit. Every Gerudo for the past several years has been hearing stories of the green-garbed Hylian that brought their leader down from on high. They all know who you are, Link, and they will bring you straight to Ganondorf if they capture you…if they don't kill you first, that is."

Link hurriedly took off his hat and stuffed it in his saddlebag, then his jerkin at Sogolon's direction. "The shield too," she instructed. "This is a stealth mission, and you clank like a tinker's cart."

Link stood fast. "I'm not facing off against Ganondorf without my shield."

Sogolon took off her cloak and wool vest, handing them to him. "Put those on so that they cushion the shield, then. You'll be able to pass for a Gerudo from a distance, at least." He looked a little dubiously at Sogolon's sweat-stained, blood-streaked vest, but did as she asked.

"Aren't you cold?" he asked as they began their hike into the high hills, as the sun began to set and she wore only her sleeveless blouse.

"The cold does not bother me. We go through much more in adulthood training." She picked her way confidently over the landscape, pointing out a snag here and there so her companion would not trip.

"Does anyone else know about this trail?" Link asked.

"I doubt it. Musa raiders used it the few times they journeyed into Hyrule. I don't see any signs of it being used recently."

"You seem to know it pretty well." He paused. "Did you ever lead any raiding parties into Hyrule?"

She stopped, and sighed. Turning around to face him, she said, "There is something you must know before we go on." He stood and waited innocently for her to continue. "I came through here, years ago, on my first mission as head of the Musa raiders."

"So you did lead a group, then."

She shook her head. "No. It was a one-person mission. I was assigned…" She shut her eyes and took a deep breath. "I was assigned by the head of the two raiding parties at that time, to go into Hyrule on a fact-finding mission, and bring back what information I could on the sacred treasure of the Hylians."

Comprehension slowly dawned on Link's face. "So…_you_ were the one who…_that's_ how Ganondorf found out about the Triforce?" A flash of anger passed across his features and his hand automatically went to his sword.

Sogolon bowed, and held out the hilt of her sword to him in a truce. "Even back then I knew there was something evil about him, but I had no idea what would unfold. When I returned home after a month imprisoned in Hyrule, I discovered that Ganondorf had killed our Musa leader and taken the position for himself. I should have told him I found nothing, but I wanted revenge for Kabila Musa's death. So I gave him the little information I had, hoping he would destroy himself in his quest." Her voice trembled. "I am sorry…I have brought disaster down on both our peoples."

Link grasped the hilt of her scimitar and yanked it from her, but immediately relaxed his hand and gave it back. "Please don't blame yourself, Sogolon. All that has happened is Ganondorf's fault and no one else's."

She straightened and nodded. "Then we must hurry and undo what he has done. I cannot guarantee we will get there before Matu, but we will enter a residential area that will be easier to move through than the rest of the compound. With some luck we can find Zelda before anything happens."

They continued on in silence for several minutes. As they neared the top of the hills, Link asked, "What was Kabila Musa like?"

Sogolon could not help but smile. "He was an inspiration to our people…not physically strong, but very smart, with a genial nature. He pulled us out of the Great Famine, which brought us to our knees, trying to fill our empty bellies with dirt. He pulled our people back from extinction." She paused, then said, "Now I must ask you a question."

"Go ahead."

"Is it true that the Triforce grants any wish to the one who touches it?"

A little uneasy at the question, Link replied, "Yes…if the person has a good heart. Otherwise it splits apart…as you've seen."

"Yes…though if the other two can be forced from their vessels, the unworthy one can possess it. You do realize that by running after Zelda, you are coming dangerously close to making Ganondorf's dream a reality."

"I know…but what else can we do?"

Sogolon nodded sagely. She walked on in silence for a bit, then said abruptly, "I wish I had been able to find the thing instead of him. If it had been me…I would have wished for water."

As they reached the top of the hills, Link let out a low whistle. The Gerudo complex laid spread out before them, with the desert sands off to the horizon, the setting sun casting shades of orange and red over the adobe homes. Sogolon pointed to the side opposite them. "You can see that the fortress is well guarded at its gates, but we depend on the mountains to protect our back. Of course, there are guards here as well, just not as many, so we must be cautious."

Link nodded, and Sogolon scanned the landscape, brows furrowed in concentration. "If I were to guess…Zelda is likely being held in the middle of the complex, underground so that there is no chance of escaping by window. We must try to use stealth as much as we can, but once we reach the area where she is being held, it will be impossible. We must also stay together, but keep in mind that we may need to split up to find her. If that happens, meet me back here once you have found Zelda and escaped. If I don't arrive after you've waited an hour or so…well, I think you understand."

Link turned to her. "Sogolon…thank you for your help."

She smiled wanly. "Just trying to fix a mistake I made twelve years ago. One final thing…if you do believe Zelda is nearby, move as cautiously as you can. Ganondorf himself likely guards her." Gripping her scimitar, Sogolon leaped down lightly onto the shelf of rock below, Link following close behind.

-&-

Link concentrated on keeping Sogolon just a few steps ahead of him, trusting her to keep them hidden in the shadows. The few times they paused, he could hear a few brief echoes of Gerudo home life; a baby's cry, two children shrieking with laughter over a toy, a group of old men trading war stories. The calmness felt eerie compared to the urgency and nature of their mission, and a few times Sogolon had to pull him back into warrior mode.

Once, he nearly walked into a guard, watching a group of middle-aged men playing some sort of game involving clay balls in the firelight. Pausing just for a moment, he felt himself grabbed roughly at the shoulders and hauled into a dark corner. "Watch yourself," Sogolon hissed in his ear, pressing him between herself and the wall. Out of the corner of his eye (the other side of his face shoved against the wall) he saw an armed guard saunter past.

He found following her difficult. Sogolon obviously knew the layout well, and seemed to forget that her companion had never been in the complex before. She ran as quickly and quietly as a mouse, often turning sharp corners. It was all he could do to keep up, and once or twice he could see an impatient look in her eyes as she watched him trailing behind.

Finally, they approached what looked like a guards' station. Sogolon leaned in close to him. "One of the merchants back at the village said he made bomb arrows. Do you have any?" Link nodded. "Give one to me."

She pulled the arrow back to her ear. "That old fool didn't realize how many of the internal guards were Musa. Now he'll see what happens when half the population is gone." She released the arrow and it impacted on a stone wall several hundred yards away. Suddenly the night lit aflame with torches and yells, but all of them moved as one away from them and toward the blasted wall.

Guards poured out of the house. Once they departed, Link and Sogolon quickly stepped in the door. Seeing a stairway leading underground, Sogolon leaned down to it and yelled something in Gerudo. Three men's' voices replied. She yelled something more urgent, then pulled Link aside as they rushed up the stairs and out the door. Spotting something on the floor, she picked up a single blonde hair and showed it to Link. Confident that they were in the right place, they ran down the stairway.

Here she turned to Link. "It will not take long for the guards to realize they are not under siege; we must split up to save time. These holding cells are like a maze, so take note of the path you follow. Kill anyone who questions you!"

Link nodded once to indicate he understood, and they both sprinted down opposite corridors. All of the holding cells were empty; Link shuddered to think that they contained the ghosts of Sogolon's Musa companions.

He turned down one corridor, then another. A Dragmire guard spotted him and raised his scimitar; Link didn't like killing humans, so he knocked the man out instead with the flat of his sword. Running further, he nervously wondered why the halls were so empty; could they have entered the wrong prison?

A soft, golden light, different from that of the shaky wall torches, lit up a corridor to his right. He peered cautiously around the corner and could see Zelda standing at the end of the hallway, a transparent, yellowish wall of magic standing between them. He stood for a few minutes, waiting and listening, but didn't hear anything that could pose a danger.

Zelda's face lit up when she saw him step into the hallway. "Link, get me out of here!"

"How?" He scanned the hallway for a key, a lock, a crystal.

She pointed to a metal switch on the side of the wall.

Link reached out and pressed the switch. Suddenly he felt all the muscles in his body seize up, and shooting pains darted through his arm and the rest of his body. His mouth opened wide, but nothing came out, and just before he blacked out he saw the Zelda mirage disappear and two Dragmire guards appear in her place.

-&-

"Thrice-blasted, wasp-brained son of scorpions!" Nabooru stomped through the halls in a towering rage. She had not even bothered to change out of her ceremonial dress before she left the Spirit Temple, and quite a few people stared as she cursed foul oaths while wearing the silk pants, pointed shoes, and bright chest wrap that were the symbols of the benevolent Gerudo gods. She snarled back at them, the lack of Musa confirming her suspicions.

"Old fool!" Ganondorf turned around to greet her as she entered the room. "So it's true, what I heard. You slaughtered a good three-fourths of the Musa clan for no reason at all!" She turned with consternation toward the Musa boy standing next to him, whom she recognized as Sogolon's nephew.

Ganondorf turned away, supremely unconcerned. "You're just finding out now? You shouldn't spend all your time locked away in the temple. In any case, I did not remove anything unnecessary."

"Nothing unnecessary?!" Nabooru resisted the urge to strike her superior across the face. "Forgetting, for the moment, the _insanity_ of murdering so many of our own people, consider the harvest! There aren't enough Musa to bring in this year's crop of drought-corn! You've got us headed for another Great Famine!"

"The Dragmire raiders can pitch in. Drought-corn no longer matters, anyway." He leaned in close to Nabooru, a hungry look on his face. "I have finally gathered to me the other two pieces of the Hylian relic."

Nabooru made a hideous face. "You idiot. After all the trouble that thing has caused our people, you're going to go after it again?"

"The Hylian Princess is safely hidden in the underground vaults. As for the other…" He pointed to a young man lying unconscious in a small holding cell.

Nabooru's eyes widened. "Are you sure that is the Hylian warrior?"

"He bears the same mark on his hand as Zelda and I do."

Calming somewhat, Nabooru folded her arms. "I said it before and I'll say it again…going after foul Hylian magics is a bad idea. I know many of the other Gerudo feel the same way, and not just the remaining Musa."

"I think they will change their minds, given the circumstances." Ganondorf picked up a pile of clothing next to the cell and showed it to Matu Musa. "Do you recognize this?"

Matu's eyes widened as he seized the blood-spattered vest. "This is Aunt Sogolon's."

"This is your aunt's reward for helping the Hylians. The warrior murdered her and took her garments, intending to sneak into our home and rescue his leader."

Matu's eyes narrowed and his hands shook. "I told her…not to trust them…"

Ganondorf stepped over to a large scimitar with a bejeweled hilt, taking it from its ornately carved platform and holding it out to Matu. "This is the sword used at your father's sentencing. You have proven your worth to me by bringing me the Hylian Princess. Now I want you to prove it to the rest of the Gerudo, and redeem your clan, by executing the Hylian Hero in the grand coliseum."

Nabooru watched, deep foreboding creeping over her, as Matu hefted the sword and looked eagerly at the unconscious warrior. "I will restore honor to my clan."


	11. The Darkest Hour is Just Before Dawn

Sogolon peered anxiously down the next corridor. She could not keep track of time in the halls of the dim, twisting warren, but she felt certain that sunrise could not be that far away. Also, she had not run into many guards, but she had been forced to kill two who had stepped in her way. There were few hiding places in this part of the complex – to hinder the escape of prisoners – she had to leave the bodies where they lay. Anyone could follow the trail of blood leading right to her.

Deciding she'd had enough of aimless wandering, she searched the left wall of the corridor until she found a space where the adobe grain had been brushed at a slightly different angle. With her scimitar she tapped out a short, simple tune on the hollow wall, and a hidden door slid back. She entered and the door closed behind her, betraying no hint of its presence.

Smiling slightly, Sogolon climbed up a narrow ladder. These inner passageways were as old as the complex itself, though they had fallen into disuse, as the compound had not faced an invasion in many years. Kabila Musa himself had taught her the method of entry, her and the two others that served immediately beneath him.

Since, obviously, Ganondorf knew about them as well, she had taken a risk in using them. But as she traveled from hidden passage to hidden passage, listening at the mouths of the main passageways for any sign of increased security, it appeared that he found no need to guard them. She doubted he was stupid enough to believe that a couple of raiders had taken her down, so it had to be something else.

Sogolon stopped fast at the entrance to one of the main halls, hearing voices outside. She recognized one of them to be Nabooru, giving orders. Sogolon weighed her options. It was becoming increasingly clear that she needed help finding Zelda, but in this climate she could not trust even another Musa. She heard the other two people walk in one direction, Nabooru in the other. Sogolon waited for a few moments, then opened the door and silently followed Nabooru.

She had not gone far when Nabooru took a sharp turn into a room guarded by no less than four people. Sogolon hid in the shadows, feeling a jolt of relief and surprise upon recognizing Zelda's voice. "Why are you letting him do this? Is it in the best interest of the spiritual leader of the Gerudo to condone mass murder of their own people?"

"Enough," Nabooru snapped. "I don't need to answer to the guardian of the source of his madness." She paused, and spoke further, her voice markedly softer. "I came to tell you that your Hero has been captured."

Sogolon cursed under her breath as she heard Zelda's audible gasp. "That's not all," Nabooru said quickly. "He is scheduled to die at sunrise, a couple of hours from now."

Feeling as if she had been struck, Sogolon heard Zelda's trembling voice. "Why are you telling me this?"

Her angst quite clear, Nabooru replied, "I thought it would be better for you to hear it from me instead of _Him_. He's coming soon, to take you to the coliseum also. If you don't give him what he wants willingly, he'll have your head as well."

Sogolon heard Nabooru turn on her heel and stalk out of the room. Sogolon ran back a short distance, just around a corner. As Nabooru reached her, Sogolon thrust one arm around the woman's chest, pinning her arms against her sides and holding the blade of the scimitar to her throat. "Listen, fool. You're going to do exactly as I tell you."

Nabooru gasped not in fear but in surprise. "_Sogolon?!_ You're alive?"

Sogolon released her and stood back, baffled. "Of course I'm alive. Does that tunnel-spider really think I'm dead? And keep your voice down, I don't want the guards to hear us."

"But...the Hylian had your vest and cloak!"

"I gave them to him."

"Why?!"

Sogolon narrowed her eyes. "What is it going to take for you to realize that Ganondorf has lost all semblance of sanity?"

"I figured _that_ out ages ago. But what can I do? I'm not a warrior, not by our standards anyway."

An irritated hiss escaped from Sogolon's teeth. "You never were very smart. Why didn't you use your head against him? Or your position to lessen his influence? No matter…you said he is coming for Zelda. I want you to release her."

Nabooru stared with wide eyes. "What?"

"I don't mean let her walk out herself, idiot. Pretend you've been told to bring her to the coliseum. We're all going there – if you can show us a way to go that won't draw attention."

"I know a secret passage used by my ancestors…it comes right up to the dais where the executions take place. We used it to…er, help the gods demonstrate their power." Nabooru grinned sheepishly at Sogolon's raised eyebrow. "Well, sometimes even the gods need a little assistance to win over skeptics."

"Whatever." Sogolon took off her necklace and handed it to Nabooru. "Show this to her but don't let the guards see. This way she won't give you too much trouble when she hears she's to be brought to the coliseum."

Nabooru nodded and took the necklace. She announced her purpose loudly to the guards, and then Sogolon heard a strange chime, doubtless some kind of magic that Nabooru had dispelled. Sogolon made a silent prayer of thanks to the sand fox that she had the only other wielder of Gerudo magic on her side.

As they rounded the corner, Zelda's face lit up. "Sogolon! Did you know-"

Sogolon pressed her finger to her lips as Nabooru undid the impromptu bindings on Zelda's hands. "I know all about Link. We're going to see if we can free him. Nabooru, lead the way."

-&-

Not more than thirty minutes later, the four guards looked at each other in puzzlement as Ganondorf swept past them with an expression of triumph on his face. Realizing they had made a mistake in there somewhere, they scattered when a rock-splitting series of profanities erupted from inside the room.

He ran out of the room and collared an unfortunate guard. "_Where is she_?!" he demanded, his eyes starting from his head.

"Nabooru…Nabooru said you told her to pick her up…" the terrified guard stuttered.

The dark warlord stared, at a loss as to what had driven Nabooru to openly defy him. "Well, it doesn't matter," he said to no one in particular as he dropped the petrified guard. "Zelda won't abandon her Hero. She's got to be in the area somewhere."

-&-

On the edge of consciousness, Link could hear several peoples' voices in the midst of a spirited discussion. As his body registered a dull ache from his head to his feet, and he sensed that he was lying on cold stone, he realized that the speakers used a language unknown to him.

As he shifted his arms and legs in an attempt to raise his head off the ground, he heard the voices suddenly stop. Painfully raising his head, he flinched in surprise to see no less than seven Dragmire guards staring intently at him on the other side of prison bars, as if he were some kind of unknown creature. Slightly irritated and mystified, he demanded, "What are you looking at?"

The group immediately broke into excited chatter amongst themselves, alternately pointing at him in turn. Annoyed, he sat down on the floor and turned his attention back to himself. He did not seem to have any major injuries, but all of his weapons and gear had been taken, not even an empty bottle left behind. Sogolon's clothes and his thin layer of chainmail had been removed as well, so all he had was his thin undershirt, leggings, and boots. His skin prickled and his hair stood on end, for he had never felt so exposed in his life.

He glanced around his surroundings, trying to get a grasp of where he was. A fire burned in a spindly-legged torch just outside the cell. There was no one in the cells next to or across from him, so he felt a thin ray of hope that Sogolon might still be free somewhere. As he looked above him, he noticed with puzzlement a small barred window set into the stone wall. Sogolon had stated that the underground complex did not have windows; he must have been taken somewhere else. But where?

He jumped up and grabbed the bars in the window, pulling himself up to look outside and hearing all talk cease as he did this. He peered out but could see little in the moonlight. He could barely discern the high walls of some kind of stadium, and in the middle of it stood a simple platform with a large stone block at the top. He remembered something Sogolon had mentioned about her brother and his blood ran cold.

He turned back to see the group standing with wide grins at the expression on his face. One of them drew his finger across his throat, and the rest of the group exploded into laughter.

-&-

"Blast you, Nabooru!" Sogolon strained as hard as she could against the loose pile of rocks that blocked their progress in the underground tunnel, the other two pushing and shifting stones alongside her. "If you'd come in here before, we'd have known that half the place had collapsed!"

Nabooru glared at her, sweat running down her dirt-streaked face. The torches that lay on the ground cast eerie shadows on all of them. "We haven't had any ceremonies in the coliseum since Kabila's rule, and back then my mother did them. How was I to know it was falling apart?"

Zelda stopped pushing and began feeling along the pile for a weak spot. "Just a moment…I think I can weaken this for us…"

Nabooru gave her a look of concern. "If you use too much magic now, you won't have enough strength left to transport Link out of the coliseum."

"If I don't use it now, we won't get to the coliseum." Zelda placed her hands on set of stones and a soft glow appeared under her hands, instantly changing the rocks to pebbles.. Sogolon and Nabooru leaped back as the rubble spread ahead of and behind them, creating an opening. They snatched up their torches and sprinted down the passage.

A crease formed between Zelda's eyebrows as she mulled over Nabooru's words. "You said you know I plan to transport Link away from the coliseum. Do you know…that I only have enough power…for the two of us?"

"Maybe if we're lucky, we can all jump Ganondorf before he starts anything," Sogolon said, but didn't sound convinced.

"I must ask you…what are you going to do if you can't escape?" Zelda asked.

"Don't worry about us," Nabooru assured her. "We are leaders of our people. We are responsible for ensuring their well-being and survival."

"We'll go down fighting if we have to," said Sogolon. "You would do the same for your people, would you not?"

"Of course," Zelda said, but could not help feeling she was guilty of leading the two resolute women to their deaths. She prayed to the Goddesses that they could find a way to accomplish their mission without any more bloodshed.

A soft light appeared just ahead, and they slowed, Sogolon stepping in front with her sword held ready. As they approached, they realized that the light was not coming from a fire, but from a window in the ceiling, and that the passage stopped just under the window.

"Is this a dead end?" Sogolon demanded. "I don't remember seeing any other passageways."

"No, we're just below the dais in the coliseum, see?" Nabooru pointed up at the grille, through which dark blue sky could be seen.

Sogolon swore so intensely that Nabooru clapped her hands over her ears. "You idiot! I wanted to get into the holding cells!"

"There aren't any passages there! If there were, they could be used by prisoners to escape!" Nabooru snapped back. "We can remove the grille and get to the holding cells from here."

"Not now, we won't." Zelda pointed gravely at an angle where they could see the stadium packed full with people. "Not without being seen."

Sogolon hurled more oaths at Nabooru. "Wasp-brained fish spawn! What a lovely spot you've found for us! Now Zelda can have a front-row seat to watch Link have his head separated from his body!"

The two launched into a war of words as Zelda calmly walked to one edge of the room, placing her hands on a small indentation. She picked up a rock and threw it at the quarreling pair, who looked up in surprise. "I think we can still get out of this," she explained. "I want you to listen carefully…"

-&-

Link crouched on the floor and considered his options. There weren't many.

Playing dead was out. The guards had already seen him wake up. He could see nothing in the room that could even be considered as a weapon. He had nothing on him that could be used in his defense, short of knocking one of them over the head with his boot. Basically all he had left was a lot of punching and kicking, and he doubted it would work very well against seven armed guards.

Suddenly the guards stiffened and stood at attention. Link stood up, and his eyes narrowed as he recognized the much-maligned, all-too-familiar silhouette of Ganondorf, accompanied by someone else. He started in surprise as Matu Musa stepped into the firelight, a richly decorated sword in his hand, and a strangely determined look in his eyes.

"Matu?" Link asked, unable to say anything more.

Matu's eyes narrowed in disgust. "Wretched termite. My aunt showed you compassion and you repaid her with treachery!"

Stunned, Link demanded, "What are you talking about?"

"I know you killed my Aunt Sogolon!" He raised the sword. "I'm going to repay the favor, and restore the honor of the Musa clan!"

Link turned with a scowl to Ganondorf, who stood watching like a canary-filled cat. "You put him up to this. What did you tell him?!"

Ganondorf ignored the question. "I know you were hoping for another epic battle, but I decided not to take any chances this time. I, unlike you, learn from my mistakes." He nodded toward Matu. "If it's any consolation, the death of the Hylian Hero will remove the stain that Sogolon cast across the Musa clan." He flashed a wicked smile. "Sogolon is no more, but I'm sure she would be happy to see you sacrifice yourself for the good of her clan."

"I didn't kill Sogolon!" Link shouted. "She's-"

"She's what? Or where?" Ganondorf leaned down eagerly. "Perhaps she would like to join in the festivities. If you didn't kill her, as you say, perhaps she's somewhere nearby?"

Link kept his mouth shut. Matu sneered at him. "Liar. You should at least have made up a believable story."

"Indeed." Ganondorf straightened and turned to Matu. "Let's escort our guest of honor outside, shall we?"


	12. The Eleventh Hour

If the guards thought Link would walk calmly to his death like a martyr, they were wrong. As soon as they opened the cell door, he crouched in a corner, hands up and teeth bared like an animal. They exchanged uncertain glances, then one of them tried to snatch the Hylian's wrist. Link blocked his hand and kicked the guard in the stomach, all in the blink of an eye. The other six fell upon him, but he kicked, punched, and bit at any part of them that he could reach like a rabid cat. As they attempted to maneuver their way out the door, trying to fit through while holding his limbs as far apart from each other as possible, Ganondorf walked up in disgust. "You fools. I don't care if he is the Hero; can't you handle one little boy?" He gave Link a hard belt on the head.

Dazed, his vision blurred, Link vaguely registered that they had entered a doorway into the middle of the coliseum. Cheers from the crowd deafened him as Ganondorf entered the arena with Matu, the guards hanging back. Shaking his head, Link could hear the dark warlord speaking, but couldn't understand a word of what was said.

Ganondorf gestured toward the doorway, and the guards emerged with their quarry. Another deafening cheer shook the coliseum, not for the newcomer but for what was about to happen to him. Link scanned the huge structure, not sure what he was looking for.

As they neared the huge block, both it and the dais around it stained dark brown, Link redoubled his efforts, even though he had no idea what he would do if he got free. Prying his teeth and fingernails from their skin, they clamped a set of chains around his wrists that snaked through two holes in the block and down to a grille below, forcing him to kneel with his head against the block. Beginning to panic, he prayed that Sogolon was back in Hyrule with Zelda, and that his piece of the Triforce would find another vessel upon his death.

As Ganondorf turned once more to the audience, he heard a hissing sound just in front of him, and his heart leaped as he saw Sogolon standing beneath the grille with Zelda and another Gerudo woman beside her. As he opened his mouth, Sogolon brought her finger to her lips. "Hold tight. We'll get you out of here," she whispered to him as the rest of the coliseum fixed its attention on Ganondorf.

Zelda frowned at his restraints. "These are not ordinary chains. They have some kind of spell on them. They will take some time to remove."

"I hate to tell you this, but time is the one thing we don't have." Link turned back over to Matu and he nearly jumped in the air. "My sword! One of the guards that was already in here has my sword!"

Sogolon cocked her head, listening. "He says that it will be entombed with your remains upon your death."

Nabooru snorted. "He couldn't figure out a way to break it, that's why."

"Uh, guys, I think he's wrapping up," Link said uneasily as Ganondorf motioned toward Matu, who held the sword high in the air. "Can you pick up the pace a little?"

"Can't rush this," Zelda said between gritted teeth, concentrating fully on the task at hand. Sogolon ran off to the right, out of his sight.

Matu strode forward, Ganondorf behind him. Link strained backward as hard as he could, biting at Matu as the boy attempted to hold him still. He felt Ganondorf's hand grip his hair and pull his head over the bloc, and shouted in spite of himself, "Guys! Any time now!!!"

"_Matu, no!_" Sogolon appeared just to his right. Startled, Matu swung the sword down at an angle onto the stone of the dais. His head jerked up in surprise, and he dropped the sword, running toward her.

"_Aunt Sogolon!_ You're alive!" He fell into her arms and burst into sobs. The audience erupted into pandemonium.

Out of the corner of his eye, Link could see Ganondorf pick up the sword. "_Sogolon!_ Focus!!" He shut his eyes as the dark warlord stood over him and raised the weapon.

He heard the ring of steel on steel, and looked up to see Sogolon standing over him, blocking Ganondorf. A rage-filled howl from the audience blasted them, and several people scrambled over the walls that held the rows of spectators, eager to punish Sogolon for this ultimate act of treason.

"I was wondering when you'd show up, Milady," Ganondorf muttered. "I suppose it's true, what they say…you should never count a Musa as dead until you see the body."

Sogolon knocked his sword to the side, then pointed her own at him. "_Marisinu!_" she bellowed, loud enough to carry over the length of the coliseum. The audience dissolved into bedlam, and Ganondorf's face registered a look of surprise and amusement.

"Really?" he asked her. "Eager to join your fool Musa king, are you?"

Sogolon erupted into a tirade of Gerudo, gesturing to herself, Ganondorf, and Link.

Link heard footsteps beside him and to his surprise, saw the other Gerudo woman shooing off guards and spectators that had approached the dais. "What's going on?" he demanded, wondering how she and Sogolon had gotten out of the underground room.

Nabooru turned impatiently to him. "Sogolon has issued a ritual challenge to Ganondorf. Now she is listing off the reasons she should replace him, after a fight."

"Fight?" Link's eyes widened. "But…she can't defeat him! She's going to get killed!"

"Shut your mouth, termite," Nabooru snapped. "It's your hide she's trying to save!"

-&-

"I accept your challenge," Ganondorf said to Sogolon, loud enough for the audience to hear, then dropped his voice. "I don't know what you're doing, Milady, but you're only delaying the inevitable."

Sogolon swung her sword in a series of quick circles, switching from hand to hand. It served no strategic value, but these circumstances required a certain amount of grandstanding. The audience roared its approval as Ganondorf acted as if the whole incident were a minor interruption. He lifted the ceremonial sword and charged.

Leaping aside, Sogolon made a passing swing at him and rolled away when he stabbed backward. She flipped over in a series of handsprings as he charged her, then stood suddenly and slashed downward. She accomplished nothing more than a paper cut on his face, but the audience – hyped up on adrenaline – cheered the first hit. She darted back and forth as he charged again, trying to draw him and the audience's attention away from Link, yet staying close enough that he wouldn't lose interest. She knew it was only a matter of time before he got frustrated and started using his Triforce piece. Once he unleashed the Triforce of Power, she could count her lifespan in seconds.

He lunged in close, smashing the sword down upon the dais. Nimbly leaping up onto his sword and then up his arm, she raised her sword hand, only to have him grab it by the wrist and send her flying. She fell hard on her wrist and felt it snap beneath her. Ignoring the pain, she stood and switched her sword to her other hand, slicing the air with another set of circles to discourage her opponent from capitalizing on her injury. She could see Link still kneeling at the stone. _Hurry up, Zelda…_

Ganondorf took advantage of her momentary distraction and knocked the sword from her hand. As he brought his own down upon her, she kicked high and blunted the blow, sending his hand off on a diagonal. The audience cheered for her, respect for fighting to the last breath ingrained deep into their psyche, even if the fighter was an enemy.

"All right, I've had enough of this." Ganondorf clenched his fist and Sogolon caught a glimpse of gold light. Instinctively she raised her hands to her face, but it made no difference as a bright flash of light and immense burst of force threw her backward into the air.

-&-

"_Aunt Sogolon!_" Link jerked his head around upon hearing Matu's anguished cry, just in time to see the woman's body fall to the ground. Ganondorf left Sogolon lying there, as Matu pulled at her clothing and begged her to move, and walked unhurried toward Link.

"Finally!" Zelda exclaimed, and Link heard the clink of half the chain falling to the ground in front of him. He pulled his hands out of the holes just as Ganondorf stepped behind him. Flicking his arms upward, he caught the surprised warlord across the face with the chain.

"Here, catch!" Nabooru wrested the Master Sword from a startled guard and threw it to Link, who caught it and threw off the scabbard, wrapping the chains around his wrists. With a roar of disbelief and frustration, Ganondorf hurled himself at the young warrior. The two clashed swords, the ring of metal echoing in between the cries of the audience.

-&-

Zelda crept carefully out of the hidden opening, crouching under the dais where Ganondorf could not see her. She peered carefully over the top of the dais, waiting for the right moment to snatch Link and transport the both of them out of there.

Suddenly Matu appeared beside her, his face tear-streaked. "Help my aunt!" he begged Zelda. "You have healing powers, and she risked her life for you! You have to help her!"

She hesitated, looking from Sogolon to Link, not wanting to leave the woman there but knowing she only had a small window of opportunity. "I don't think I can…"

Matu's face constricted as he switched from tearful child to angry adult in the blink of an eye. "Help my aunt or I'll tell Ganondorf you're here!"

Zelda shook her head vigorously and followed Matu to Sogolon. Keeping one eye on the epic battle, she ran her hand over the still woman. Blood trickled from Sogolon's mouth and one ear, and Zelda could tell that she had several broken bones, as well as a good deal of internal bleeding. "I'll do what I can," she told him, knowing all too well that Sogolon would never make it.

Just as she placed her hands over Sogolon, she heard a shout off to the side and saw Link fall to his knees, the Master Sword skittering away. Ganondorf raised his sword and shouted in triumph, then yelled in pain as the sword rang from his hands when it came in contact with a magic barrier. He turned his head and his eyes widened in surprise to see Zelda kneeling next to Sogolon, one hand extended to keep her shield over Link.

Ganondorf seized Link by the collar and sprinted toward Zelda, who raised her hands and spread them to release a ball of light. He thrust it aside easily with his own power and wrapped his hand around her neck, his eyes bulging with anticipation. "Give me the Triforce!" he bellowed. "Give it to me or I'll throttle you and your Hero!"

Zelda struggled weakly, the marks on their hands glowing brightly as she momentarily glimpsed into the minds of all three. Something in Link's recent memory pierced her mind and she seized it, pouring all her hope into one possibility.

-&-

Only dimly aware of what was going on around her, Sogolon felt the pain in her body slowly ebb away. The shouting voices softened, the foggy mist around her eyes growing darker.

"Sogolon Musa." Her eyes flew open and she found herself standing alone in the coliseum, alone save for one other person. Kabila Musa stood in front of her.

He regarded her with a flinty gaze. "Sogolon Musa, why do you lie on the ground when there is still breath in your body?" His voice sounded strange, as if someone were speaking through him. "Your clan needs you. Your adopted clan needs you."

"What do you mean?" she demanded, trying to understand what was going on. "My adopted clan?"

"You pledged to help the Hylians. You took responsibility for their troubles as well as ours. The tunnel-spider has sighted his prey and will soon spring forth, throwing us all into darkness. You must take it before he does. Sogolon Musa, remember your duty as a true Gerudo warrior!"

A flash of light blinded her, and she let out a low moan, once more lying on the dais riddled with pain. Her eyes fluttered open, and focused on Matu kneeling above her. "Aunt Sogolon!" he cried joyously.

She turned her head just in time to see Ganondorf drop both Link and Zelda and run toward her. She lifted her gaze skyward, a strange sight before her. A golden icon shone suspended in the air, three triangles combined to form a larger one.

"Matu." Her words bubbled from her mouth. "Help me up."

Shocked, he protested, "No, no, Aunt Sogolon, you have to rest…"

"No more talk," she snapped, knowing she had a limited amount of breath left in her body. "Help me up!"

Matu pulled the broken woman's body to her knees, and she struggled to rise. As he protested, she said, "Matu, lift me high enough so I can reach that thing."

Terrified, Matu exclaimed, "No, Aunt Sogolon! You don't know what will happen if you touch it!"

"I know what will happen if _he_ does. Do it now!"

With a mighty heave, Matu practically threw her into the air. Sogolon smiled at Ganondorf's agonized face, just five feet from her, as she lifted her hand and grasped the golden icon.

-&-

A blinding burst of light filled the coliseum, and a massive shockwave spread from the center of the dais. As Link struggled to his feet amid the screams and shouts, he heard a voice speak within his mind. _Get to higher ground. Now!_

He turned to look at Zelda, who returned his puzzled expression. They both sprinted for the sides of the coliseum, Nabooru and Matu behind them, Ganondorf standing on the dais and screaming at an invisible person. As they scrambled up the walls, the spectators reaching down to push them back, they felt the ground tremble beneath them.

All heads turned to the dais. A massive crack split it in two, and Ganondorf stumbled and fell. The crack yawned open, splinters of marble and ground breaking off and tumbling into the fissure. The crowd screamed in terror and turned to flee upwards as Ganondorf scrabbled at the edge of the gap, fell backwards, and disappeared into the chasm.

As Link watched, a huge geyser erupted from the crack, stretching up several hundred feet. It fell to the level of the coliseum walls, and sparkling clear water filled the lower part of the coliseum. The cries of fear turned to joy and Link was nearly trampled to death as the Gerudo rushed forward toward this new miracle. Zelda appeared at his side and pointed to something floating in front of them.

Link jumped in and swam to the body of Sogolon, lying face down in the water. He grasped her clothing and swam back, pulling her with him. He lifted her up onto the wall of the coliseum, where Zelda, Nabooru, and Matu stood waiting.

Amid the Gerudo splashing and playing in the sacred spring, the four of them crouched around Sogolon, looking up briefly only when a dripping Musa man offered Link his sword back.

"Aunt Sogolon?" Matu asked tentatively, noticing that the bruises and abrasions on her skin had disappeared.

Suddenly Sogolon coughed, and her eyes fluttered open. She looked up at the four around her and asked weakly, "Did it work?"


	13. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

"Are we ready? Yes? Excellent! I'll let them know." Shad ran over the marble bridge that connected the central platform to the rest of the coliseum, nearly stumbling into the spring waters as he hurried. As he puffed his way up the steep stairs, several members of the audience called out to him in excitement and anticipation of the opening of the harvest festival. It had been an amazing harvest this year, even better than the last, because the crops had been able to soak up the waters of the sacred spring from seed to scythe.

Finally reaching the top of the coliseum, he bowed to the Gerudo Queen, her guests, and the Ambassador to Hyrule. "Everything is ready," he said.

"Excellent work, Shad. Have a seat," Sogolon invited him. Her beaded, embroidered silk robe sparkled in the firelight as she stood to thunderous applause. "May the Goddesses continue to bless us for many years in the future, with plentiful food, a solid alliance with our neighbors, and the riches that have been bestowed upon us!" She gestured to the opal necklace worn by her guest, a discovery made in the flotsam and jetsam thrown by the sacred spring. She waved her hands to more applause, and yells of enthusiasm.

Sogolon held up a Hylian contraption of Goron origins, and pulled the short wire as she had been instructed. With a massive bang, a spinning red light soared into the air, then exploded into a thousand sparkling lights as the drummers down below struck a beat for the dancers on the platform.

Amid wild cheers, Sogolon leaned over to Zelda. "You should come visit more often," she insisted. "I can tear myself away from duty every once in a great while; so can you."

Zelda smiled. "I would, but the rebuilding of the kingdom still continues. I would ask you to stay put more often, as I hear your people have been asking questions about succession."

Shrugging, Sogolon said, "I plan to set up a Council if I can't find anyone that would make a good suitor. The remaining Musa are too closely related to me, and there is too much bad blood between me and the Dragmire."

Link looked up from the leg of lamb he was eating. "You seem to have done a good job with the rest of the Gerudo, since I don't hear so much about the clan rivalries anymore."

Sogolon smiled toward Shad, who sat watching the dancers, his foot tapping to the rhythm. "Our cultural ambassador has worked wonders for reviving many of the old traditions on both sides."

He looked up and smiled eagerly. "I didn't find the patterns for the dancers' dresses until last month. It was a lot of work getting them woven out of cotton cactus, I can tell you. And it took all year to find the feathers for the headdresses. Not to mention teaching people a dance that hasn't been performed in generations!"

Matu, the Ambassador to Hyrule, nodded. "I'm glad you were able to find references to it in the scroll vaults of your castle. It's a relief to know that our culture has survived in one form or another, documented in unlikely places across Hyrule."

The audience whooped as a fire-dancer entered the coliseum, swinging oil-soaked sheepskin on the ends of thin chains, giving the effect that he was manipulating floating wheels of flame. They cheered him on as he maneuvered them above his head, behind his back, even between his legs. Finally, he drank a bit of liquor and spouted it forth in front of the flame, creating a great whooshing blast over the heads of the audience. They shrieked with pleasure, and the royals and their guests clapped.

Sogolon leaned over to Zelda once the noise died down a bit. "I hate to throw bad news into the celebrations, but you should know…the Zora we hired to scout out the spring never found Ganondorf's body. I suppose it could have been crushed under a rock or blasted beyond recognition, but he was right when he said one should never count a person as dead until the body is found."

Zelda nodded solemnly. "I had a feeling that would come up. The Two Pieces returned to us…I imagine he has kept the third in some form somewhere."

Frowning, Link asked, "But shouldn't the Triforce have been reunited? I remember seeing it for a moment there…and then Sogolon touched it…"

Sogolon shrugged. "It was a bit hard for me to concentrate…being nearly dead and all. The only thing I could think of was to ask for water…and that's what I got."

"I expect that since it didn't get any direction from Sogolon, the Triforce reverted to its previous form," Zelda explained.

"Well, if he does come back, we'll be ready," Link assured them.

Sogolon nodded. "You have the support of my people as well, hopefully for generations, as it is your country's power that gave us the resource we most needed."

-&-

After the celebrations, everyone retired for a couple hours' sleep before the return of daylight. As Sogolon stood upon the lookout tower, surveying her country, she heard footsteps behind her and looked up to see Link approaching her. "Even after all that, you can't sleep?" she asked with a smile.

"Sogolon." Link's face held a sober expression. "I never got to thank you for rescuing me in the coliseum."

"It's not just me you should thank. Nabooru and Zelda helped as well."

"I know…but you got me into your country, and you found Zelda…"

She clapped a hand on his shoulder. "We exchanged favors many times before that." She grinned wide. "I suppose you'll just have to repay me on another adventure, eh?"

He smiled thinly. "I suppose…if you can find the time while being the Gerudo Queen."

Sighing, Sogolon said, "I have to admit this is not the role I envisioned for myself. But after the Triforce incident, my people more or less elected me into this position."

"Zelda says you're a natural leader."

"That's very kind of her. But I have to admit I prefer doing things rather than ordering other people to do them."

Link gazed out over the horizon. "I guess as long as _he's_ out there, we'll have to stay on our guard."

Sogolon laughed so hard he turned around to stare at her. "Eh, Link," she gasped between spurts of mirth, "warriors like us, we wouldn't have it any other way."

He couldn't help but smile. "I suppose you're right."


End file.
